Optimistic Pessimism
by Verassi
Summary: There's something to be said about luck. Many say that you have to be lucky in this world to get anywhere, but Izuku is going to prove that he doesn't need luck, that he'll achieve his goals even with luck running against him. After all, when your quirk just happens to be bad luck, what else is there to do but fight it tooth and nail every step of the way.
1. It's a Wonderful Life

AN: Okay, so this was just a silly idea I had that I wrote down.

I hope you enjoy my weird idea~~

Huge shout out to Rzen, as always for being an amazing beta!

Anyway, enjoy :DD

* * *

"All you can take with you is that which you've given."

He quickly tied his shoes as he ran out the door, throwing a goodbye over his shoulder to his mom.

He was late… again.

This wasn't the first time he had missed waking up to his alarm, nor did he believe it would be his last. Still, it sucked, and he really didn't want to be late for class. _The glass is half full. I still have time to make it to class, besides, now I know I'm well rested for the day._

The elevator was broken—typical. It looked like he was going to be taking the stairs this morning. _The glass is half full. This just means more exercise for me._ He tried to keep his thoughts on a happy note.

Running out the doors to his apartment complex, Izuku didn't notice a man walking in, and bumped into him. He wished this wasn't such a common occurrence. It happened more often than he would like to admit. Running into things was his speciality. Not only did he end up running late every other day, he also had the misfortune to run into misplaced things such as trash cans or, more often than not, people.

"Watch where you're going, kid!" The man shouted ruefully, as Izuku kept moving forward. He really didn't have the time to stop and apologize, besides that man knew who he was. He ran into that man at least twice weekly. He was known for standing outside their apartment complex and smoking. Coincidently, Izuku was known for bumping into him on his way to class.

The whole everything-that-could-go-wrong-would-go-wrong routine was… annoying, and grated on his nerves. Still, there was no point in being overly dramatic about it. He knew that it couldn't be helped.

He had tried for years to combat his bad luck, but to no prevail—bad luck was just as much a part of him as breathing, it was an extension of himself, just as all quirks were to their users. Still, he tried not to let that get him down. He tried to focus on the more positive aspects of his life instead.

 _The glass is half full, not half empty._

At the very least, he was getting faster in his attempts to not be late to class. He was pretty sure he's shaved off a full two minutes on his average mile run. He knew he would miss every stop light, he always did, so he took the back way. It was longer, unless you were him and would end up having to stop at every traffic light.

It had taken him three months of being late to class before he finally figured out the system. Regardless of him knowing the system, his own sleeping in hindered his ability to make it on time.

The back way was his insurance route—whenever he overslept or was running late, the back way offered him a slightly longer, but with no stop lights, way to run to school. Today would be one of those days where he used this backup route, and he hoped he was quick enough to make it to school before he was late.

He thought he might make it to class on time today, but almost as soon as he reached the doors to the building, he heard the bell ring, signaling his tardiness.

Just his luck.

Sighing, he pushed open the doors and made his way to his class.

* * *

Putting on a smile, Izuku opened the door to his class.

The room hushed, as it always did.

He took a deep breath, calming his nerves before stepping into class… and immediately falling flat on his face due to his shoe laces coming undone. In hindsight, he should have been more aware of this kind of thing. They happened so often he didn't even get embarrassed over it, just slightly annoyed.

He ignored the hushed whispers, biting his tongue to keep quiet, of his classmates as he made his way to his desk.

"Don't look at him. His bad luck will rub off on you."

"He's cursed."

"Shh, do you want him to hear you? He'll curse you too." The whispers were quiet, but he could still hear them. It was nothing new, but they still made him wilt in on himself.

"How could he be anything but a villain with a quirk like that?"

That… that one stung. He knew his quirk was undesirable, but a villain's quirk? He wasn't a villain, no matter what his quirk did. He _would_ become a hero.

Izuku ducked his head lower, pretending he couldn't hear the jibes directed towards him. It was nothing new, he told himself. It didn't hurt.

It did though. It hurt to be routinely called a nuisance, a curse, a bad omen. He understood why they were all hesitant to go near him, he really did. If he was being honest with himself, he wouldn't want to be near himself either. He was walking bad luck.

Whenever something bad happened, he was most certainly nearby. Wherever he went, bad luck followed. His classmates picked up on that rather quickly.

Once Izuku made it to his desk, he sat down, and took out his notes.

 _The glass is half full, not half empty._

It wasn't all bad though. The bullying was almost nonexistent, save for the hushed murmurs and rumors that spread with the fervor of a wildfire, and most of the time people just let left him alone. The seclusion was nice—sometimes. It meant he could go over his 'future hero analysis book'. Though, most of the time, he just felt isolated.

Despite his bad luck, he wanted to be a hero. He had his heart set on it, and nothing, not even his horrible luck, would deter him.

Luck was a scam, a hoax. It didn't exist. At least, that's what he told himself. Otherwise, he would have to face the fact that with a quirk like his, he would never be lucky. His quirk emitted bad luck, if he relied solely on luck, he would be doomed before he even had a chance.

He held the firm belief that people were who they were based on the choices they made, not the circumstances of their life. That was why he admired heroes. Despite everything bad in this world, despite the world's unfairness, they stood up for the innocent. Heroes stood against the odds, fought for a brighter future. Izuku wanted nothing more than to stand by their side, paving the way to a better future.

Izuku let his attention fall on the teacher, forgetting about his own thoughts for a moment. The teacher was in the middle of their lesson when one of the overhead lights flickered, then went out.

There was a collective groan; all heads turned to him.

"Sorry," he mumbled. He hadn't meant to, but he must have lost control of his quirk. It happened sometimes, if he wasn't paying attention. He could have sworn he had been able to keep it from spreading, but of course, luck was never on his side.

Bakugo, who was sitting in front of him, turned to him, "Way to go, nerd. You broke the light with your goddamn quirk."

Bakugo had never cared about the 'rumors' that spread about him. He didn't let that stop him from tormenting Izuku on the daily. Although, he did blame every inconvenience on him whenever he could. Izuku hated it. It wasn't his fault—not purposefully, at least—that those things happened.

"I said sorry," Izuku gritted out. "What more do you want?" He and Bakugo didn't get along very well, and he was probably going to pay for testing him right now. It was never good to go against Bakugo.

"Maybe if you could control that useless power you call a quirk, we wouldn't have to interrupt class for a fucking light outage, you fucking loser."

Izuku wilted at that, turning his head to the teacher in hopes he would at least try to quell the situation, but he just gave an exasperated sigh—one meant for Izuku and not Bakugo. Even the teacher, it seemed, had tired of his eternal bad luck.

Bakugo sent him one final glare before turning back in his seat.

The teacher continued with their lesson—with one less light to work with—and things went back to normal. That was until the teacher started talking about heroes.

Of course everyone wanted to go into a heroics class. It was most everyone in class's aspiration to become a hero. Whilst everyone else jumped from their seats, excited to demonstrate their quirks, Izuku was less enthusiastic with his expressions. He stayed quiet, in his desk, putting one measly hand up.

"Ah, yes, well I'm sure you'll all make fine heroes someday," the teacher prattled on and on. He stopped paying attention until the teacher mentioned his name, "Hmm, it says here that Midoriya is looking at U.A."

Izuku's head shot up at that. He couldn't believe—or well he could, actually—that the teacher had just outed him to the entire class.

"Y-yes," he stuttered out meekly.

The murmurs commenced, not bothering to try and keep their voices down this time.

"He actually thinks he can be a hero?"

"Doesn't he realize he'd probably get someone killed with a quirk like that?"

"He's delusional. No one would want someone with his quirk as a hero."

All those murmurs were drowned out by Bakugo though, as he made his displeasure known to the entire class.

"What the fuck do you think you're playing at, Deku?" He growled out the cursed nickname as if it were poison on his lips, "You really think _you_ can be a hero? That U.A. would accept some low-life with a quirk like _that_ into their school? Your quirk's nothing but a nuisance, a fucking inconvenience to everyone."

Izuku gaped at him, not knowing how to respond to that. He knew his quirk was rather unpleasant, that it never really helped anyone, but to hear it all thrown back at him like that, it hurt.

"I-I can be a hero…" he said it so quietly we wasn't sure Bakugo would be able to hear him, but he did, loud and clear.

Bakugo sneered at him, obviously not happy with his response, "You're just a deku, Deku. Get your head outta the gutter. Someone like _you_ could never, and I mean _never_ become a hero. With your quirk, you'd end up getting someone killed."

Izuku froze. That wasn't fair. Bakugo knew that and yet, he had still… He let his head fall, no longer willing to say anything in his own defense. Bakugo had a point, his quirk would be a nuisance to all those around him, but that didn't mean… He could still be a hero, right?

There was a time, in the past, where he had doubted himself, had thought he couldn't be anything. That had been years ago, he had grown from then, and knew that the future was what he made of it. That was the anthem he marched to.

He had made a vow a long time ago to himself, to never give up, to never look down. He couldn't afford to be pessimistic about his circumstances, so he decided then that he would be optimistic.

Life was not fair. All men were not created equal. He knew that. However, life was not fair for everyone, everyone played by those same rules. People weren't equal, but they all had their strengths. They all had something about them that made them unique.

He was unlucky. There was nothing more to it than that. He was doomed to always get the short end of the stick, to be the last picked, to lose things and trip over his feet. He learned to live with it, there wasn't anything else he could do.

Now, as much a he hated it, as much as he despised this cursed quirk, he had to live with it. He had to learn to deal with it. He wanted nothing else than to be a hero, to help people and give them hope, but he doubted that was possible with this unlucky quirk of his. How could someone who always causes trouble ever help anybody?

Bakugo wasn't wrong, his quirk was a nuisance—he was a nuisance.

He stayed quiet; Bakugo took that as a win and sat back down in his seat.

Now that the ruckus had all but died down the teacher continued with class. He never intervened in these situations, leaving Izuku to defend himself.

Izuku remained quiet for the duration of class. Once class had ended, he silently put his 'future hero quirk analysis notebook' back in his bag, or tried to before Bakugo snatched it.

He didn't give Izuku a chance to say anything, before he started belittling Izuku for even daring to have the 'stupid notebook'. It hurt, but mostly because Bakugo knew what to say; he knew how to hurt Izuku with his words and his quirk.

Bakugo glared at him, "You won't be needing a piece of crap like this anyway." He promptly put the book in between his hands, and ignited his quirk, encasing the notebook in flames that crudely burned the pages. He swiftly walked to the window and, without looking, tossed the notebook out.

Always one for theatrics, Bakugo turned heel, and gave him a menacing glare—a snarl that held some demented glee, some unknown need to hurt him, in it. Izuku knew that whatever he had to say wasn't going to be good. He didn't want to listen. He wanted to just walk away and ignore Bakugo, but his lackey's weren't having it.

As soon as he turned to walk away, they blocked his exit, sending him a glare of their own, though it lacked the same intensity as Bakugo's.

Sighing, he turned to meet Bakugo's gaze. He couldn't leave, but he also didn't care to listen to Bakugo prattle on about something that he didn't—wouldn't allow himself—to be believe.

"You trying to leave, Deku?" It wasn't so much a question as it was a snide remark, but Izuku disregarded it all the same.

Bakugo wasn't happy with his unresponsiveness to his prompts, as apparent with his heated glare burning like an ember in the night, but he didn't comment on it. Instead he whipped his head back to the window before he spoke again.

"You know, Deku, I doubt this would work, because you're you," his voice was nonchalant, but there was an undertone of anger that Izuku didn't like, "but maybe, if you're _lucky,_ " Izuku hated the way he said 'lucky' as if it was something unattainable for him, "it might work."

Izuku scowled, he didn't trust anything Bakugo had to say, because he knew Bakugo rarely said anything that could be considered helpful.

"Maybe if you take a swan dive off the roof, you'll get a _useful_ quirk in your next life." Bakugo laughed at his own words, not bothering to see his reaction to them as he turned and strode out of the room, his lackeys following suit.

Izuku stopped. All his thoughts went blank.

That wasn't…

How was that…

He couldn't respond to that—there wasn't a suitable response for that. He stood, staring at the window his notebook had been sent through, numb to the world.

He knew his quirk was a nuisance, that it did more harm than good… even so he had thought… would the world be better off… without him?

He shook his head aggressively at the thought. No. He had promised himself he wasn't going to go down that path again. He had made a vow that he was going to change his thinking—things were going to look better.

The glass was half full, not half empty. That's what he told himself. Everytime something happened: the glass was half full, not half empty.

Still… his quirk only ever caused pain for himself and those around him, could he even be a hero with something like that. Was that even a possibility?

It was, it had to be. He wasn't going to allow himself to think differently. _The glass is half full._

Without really noticing it, he had started to leave the school. He made his way to the koi pond—just as luck would have it, his notebook had fallen into it and was now becoming fish food. He shooed the koi fish away, and grabbed the notebook.

It was just a useless mass of wet paper now, but Izuku didn't really care. Right now, he wasn't really thinking about anything, just trying to get a grip on the situation, and his own thoughts.

He was walking home, he knew that, but he wasn't very aware of anything—leading to him running into multiple poles, and a few trash cans—though that could have been his quirk at play too. His quirk tended to wander when he was like this, when his thoughts were waging a war, and he couldn't concentrate on anything.

Bakugo's statement had left him rattled. It wasn't that he actually believed Bakugo. He knew it was bluff, something said to get under his skin, and it had worked, just not for the reasons Bakugo had intended. Izuku had no intention of doing something so stupid—and suicidal—but the fact that Bakugo had thought that it was _okay_ to say something like that, regardless of intentions, was what he couldn't understand.

Bakugo wanted to be a hero, didn't he? He had always pushed Izuku aside so that he could have all the attention—show everyone how much better he was—but this was… this went way past the line. Didn't Bakugo know that? Didn't he realize that or, was he so deluded in his own thoughts that he couldn't see that what he was doing was wrong?

He took a turn, leading him to a tunnel. The lighting dimmed, and he heard a rustling from behind him. He stopped and listened for another sound. Something about the air felt… off, a lingering danger that stilted the tunnel.

He didn't have time to react before something engulfed him in a slimy substance. It swiftly blocked off his airway, and filled his lungs.

He tried to break free, but it swallowed him up in a torrential wave of some blackish green muck.

Tearing at the substance did nothing to free him. His lungs were starting to burn, a vicious fire crawled up his throat as he struggled for breath. He squeezed his eyes shut, tears found there way down his face.

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. His struggling was becoming less and less wild, exhaustion taking over.

 _Is this the end? Is this how I die? On some random sidewalk on my way home from school? Mom… I'm so sorry._

"That's right kid, stop struggling. Give in, it'll be easier." The sinister, garbled voice of the slime substance—a villain—echoed throughout the tunnel.

 _There isn't anything I can do. There's just nothing I can—_

 _No. I refuse. I can't give up, the glass is half full, not empty, I just need to think. I can't give up._

He opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings. This was a villain attack, wasn't it? It had to be; this had to be a villain, Meaning, there had to be some kind of weakness.

He spotted an eye, a big yellow slit with red irises glaring down at him. It blinked once. His own fear filled gaze reflected in the slitted eye.

His vision started to go hazy, dimming in and out of focus, as he tried to think. He could move his hand—it was free from the villain's grip. He just needed to move it up a little more.

 _Come on, just a little further._

He would have to break free from the villain's grip on his forearm to move it how he needed to. He didn't have time to falter. He struggled to free his arm, it took a lot of effort, but he was able to tear his arm out just enough. He didn't have the luxury of time on his side. He would have to strike fast if he wanted this to work. He jabbed his hand into the eye of the villain. It felt… weird, to punch something square in the eye, but at the moment he didn't really care about the oddness of it.

It flinched, yowling in protest at being poked in the eye so crudely. In its screeching, it happened to smack its head on the ceiling of the tunnel they were in, which caused it to release its grip on him momentarily—not enough to free him— but it was enough for him to breath at least. He took a huge breath, reveling in the fresh air before the villain regained itself.

Just as the villain was about to suffocate him again there was a change in the air pressure, and Izuku wasn't in the villain's grip anymore.

"Fear not, kid, for I am here." He knew that voice.

He had idolized that voice for years; its booming tone and confident inflection had always inspired hope in him.

That voice belonged to All Might, the number one hero.

He watched in fascinated awe as All Might made quick work of the villain, capturing it in a two liter bottle.

"That was… amazing!" He was barely able to make the words come out in his awestruck state. He couldn't believe that he was seeing All Might here in the flesh and blood.

It wasn't possible—Izuku was not this lucky. He had to be dreaming or hallucinating, because his luck was never this good—it was never good in general.

All Might turned to him, his smile taking up most of his face, and his eyes shadowed, only the blue irises stood out from the darkness surrounding them. "I am glad you are alright, my boy. It seems I have gotten a little clumsy as you should never have been in the crossfire. Still, I never would have caught this villain if it weren't for you, so thank you."

Izuku didn't know what to say. All Might was his hero, his idol, and now he was thanking _him_? For being in the wrong place at the wrong time? It didn't make sense. There was no reason to be thanking him. He didn't even do anything. If anything, he was just glad he had been able to survive long enough for a hero to save him.

"Well, it was certainly nice meeting you, kid, but I must be off," he showcased the bottle that contained the villain, "I have to bring this guy in for questioning." He put the bottle in one of his pants pockets, and braced, ready to run off.

Izuku had a question for him though. He needed to ask this—even if the answer would break him. "All Might, wait—" he was running towards him now, not willing to let this opportunity to be passed up now that it was in front of him. He would never get a chance like this again. He knew that.

Before he could really comprehend what he was doing he had grabbed onto All Might just before he jumped.

In hindsight, it was a ridiculously stupid thing to do. He wasn't prepared for the wind pressure, and almost let go twice before they landed on the roof of a building.

The view was spectacular, a beautiful skyline of the city, but Izuku was too petrified over what he had just done to notice anything.

Izuku tried to wrap his head around the fact that he had just skyrocketed to the top of a building with All Might.

All Might was mumbling to himself. Though Izuku couldn't make out what he was saying. He had a sneaking suspicion it had to do with him hitching a ride off of him.

It took him a moment to gather himself and recall why, exactly, he had done something so incredibly stupid. That had been a terrible idea, but he wanted—needed—to ask him a question.

He gathered his wits, and stood up straight. He just had to say it—just ask it. That's all he had to do. Steeling his nerves he opened his mouth, "Can I-is it possible to become a hero if your quirk only hurts people?" He had asked it in a jittery, discombobulated tone, stuttering over multiple words and syllables.

"Whatever do you mean, kid?" All Might had turned to him now, gazing down at him with curiosity alight in his blue eyes.

"I mean-I just…" Izuku was at a loss for words, he didn't know how to explain it to his hero, "my quirk… all it's ever done is hurt people, and cause misfortune. It's nothing but a nuisance."

He looked up expecting to see the same distrust and hesitancy he had seen in the eyes of all adults once they had learned of his quirk, instead he found himself face-to-face with a skeleton of a man.

"Wha—? You deflated! Are you actually All Might or some kind of imposter?" Had he been wrong this entire time? It seemed his bad luck knew no bounds…

"I am All Might." The skeleton man deadpanned, smoke dispersing around him, before spitting up a blood.

Izuku found several things wrong with this situation, and he had several questions, most of which consisted of asking about the health of the man. Instead of asking them he said the first thing that came to mind, "I find that rather hard to believe!"

Izuku was in shock. He shouldn't be. This wasn't the first time he had met an imposter… it's just that this time, he _really_ had seemed to be the real deal.

"You know, kid, sometimes people put on a front." The skeleton man, who claimed to be All Might, said defensively.

He sat down, lifting up his shirt to show Izuku a nasty scar that ran from his side up his chest.

"People are not always as they are made out to be online. See this kid," he gestured to the scar, "this is a wound I got five years ago… from an attack by a villain. My current appearance is because of the after affects of the multiple surgeries done to keep me alive."

That looked… really bad. He couldn't imagine what that fight must have been like to cause such a harrowing injury to a hero like All Might.

"You say you want to be a hero. Do you understand all that entails?" He asked somberly.

Izuku stared at him and swallowed thickly. He knew his quirk wasn't helpful, that it couldn't possibly help him in a fight… but there had to be something he could do, right? Bad luck had to be good for something… if he could learn to control it, maybe then it could be useful.

The skeleton man, or rather All Might, as he insisted he was, stared at him expectantly, but he didn't have an answer. He knew what hero work entailed, he knew what he was risking, but he couldn't articulate the words at the moment. Something stopped him.

"You say your quirk is a quirk that only causes pain and misfortune? I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you mean by that. Care to elaborate for me?" Curiosity weighed heavily in his tone, an uneasy foreboding filled the air.

" _I don't want my kid going near him, he'll cause my kid to get hurt."_

" _Can you believe his mom lets him play with other children, knowing his quirk?"_

" _I don't want someone like him near me or my kids, ever. He's just a nuisance."_

" _He'll end up a villain with a quirk like that."_

He wilted in on himself as the thoughts invaded his mind. _The glass is half full, not empty,_ he reminded himself.

"I-I," Who would want to name a quirk like his anyway? It was more of a curse. He knew what it was, he knew what it did, but he had never given it a title"I cause bad luck to those around me… and to myself." He muttered the last part, but he knew All Might had heard him.

"You… cause bad luck?" All Might sounded… shocked to say the least. "That is… an interesting quirk—"

"So can I-I mean, is it possible to be a hero when all I do is spread misfortune? I just want to save people with a smile, like you." There was a desperate hope in his tone. He didn't like it; he hadn't meant to sound so pathetic.

 _The glass is half full, not empty._

"You say your quirk only causes misfortune among yourself and others. Heroes risk their lives everyday fighting villains. It's not something you can do recklessly. Any misstep could cost you your life. It's admirable that you want to help people, but caution must be exercised. So, no… I don't think it's possible for someone with a quirk like yours to be a hero."

Izuku stared at him, his eyes shattering like glass as the brilliant green hue gave way to a jaded dull green.

 _The glass was't half full… it was empty._

"O-oh," he looked at the ground, "I see." He knew that was the logical answer. Someone who became a burden during a fight couldn't be a hero. What he said was true and Izuku knew it, but the words still hurt—they crushed him.

He didn't bother to look up into the eyes of All Might. He didn't care to see the pity that no doubt lay embedded in those blue orbs.

"If helping people is what you're after, there are other ways to help. Become a police officer or paramedic. Though not as praised as a hero, it is an admirable occupation." All Might was leaving now, he could hear the footsteps going to the door, "It's not bad to dream kid, just be careful not to mix reality with wishful thinking." He was out the door.

Izuku stood there, looking at the ground for a few moments. He knew that was what All Might would say—he knew his quirk couldn't help people… but even so… even so… he wanted nothing more than to be a hero.

On his way to the door he tripped—that would make three times today. It didn't hurt, he was used to it. His body was numb.

Everything was detached, washed out, and drowning in the ever present sea of doubt that had always followed him. Now, he had nothing to keep the doubt at bay. The metaphorical glass was no longer there, it had shattered, along with his dreams, the moment All Might declared that he couldn't be a hero.

Guidelessly, he ambled down the stairs, stumbling down the last few flights. He had no destination in mind as he trudged forward, letting his feet guide him as he traversed the streets.

He wasn't sure where he was going, nor did he care. Right now, he needed to be away from everything, and so he walked about aimlessly.

An explosion was what finally grabbed his attention. It had come from a few blocks away. He should leave it be, let the heroes deal with it, but his feet stopped. Something tugged at him—some unknown feeling from his chest ached at the thought of leaving, of forgetting his dreams.

His walk turned into a run. He needed to go there, he didn't know why, but he had to. He didn't have control over himself. A surge of excitement and apprehension washed over him. He needed to see what was happening.

His legs led him—for once without stumbling over anything—to the scene of the explosion.

He stopped.

His eyes went wide at the sight laid out before him. The slime villain stood, away from the crowd, with fires laden around him in a ring… he was free, not in custody, where he should have been. All Might had captured him though… he had seen it, but then why was he here?

Unless… somehow he had gotten out. All Might wouldn't be so careless as to let a Villain escape. However, if he were to be distracted, then it might have been possible for the Villain to escape. The only time he had been distracted though had been when he was talking to… He realized that All Might had been distracted by him; he had been the reason the villain escaped.. He distracted All Might and let the villain escape—once again, his bad luck has caused more harm than good. Now, the villain had escaped and began terrorizing the city again, but then… where did the fire come from?

He heard a scream, some feral snarl that sounded familiar. He looked closely at the slime villain. There was something—someone—trapped within the monstrous villain.

Red eyes like embers in the night glare at him, they were familiar, but different. Before, where they had burned brightly with arrogance, alight with a determined flame that bowed to no one, now they stared hopelessly in true terror.

Bakugo was scared.

He hadn't ever seen Bakugo like this. For the first time, Bakugo looked afraid, a humbleness adorned his face. It didn't belong there.

Bakugo, the person who had only mere hours ago told him to jump off the school roof, was staring at him in a fear crazed panic. It didn't matter that Bakugo was Izuku's tormentor, that he _shouldn't_ feel obligated to save him, because at that moment, Bakugo needed to be saved. He may be a terrible person, but no part of Izuku felt that he deserved to die. Bakugo, for however much of an asshole he made himself out to be, he was still a kid.

He looked around, searching for heroes, someone to save Bakugo from the villain. There were none, or rather, no one had stepped up to the plate. A few looked around anxiously, obviously waiting for a more suitable hero to rush in and help, but none did. Why? Weren't they heroes?

He saw their hesitance, their reluctance to move forward. He could feel the heat from the flames from where he stood.

The fire raged, clawing at the sky relentlessly, black smoke leaving their fingertips and ascending into the air. These flames, Izuku realized, weren't caused by the villain. These were flames that Bakugo had caused in his panic stricken state.

Bakugo had been taken captive, and nobody had tried to save him. What were these heroes playing at? This wasn't right… Bakugo may be a prick—that was an understatement—but he didn't deserve to die. He didn't deserve to be abandoned like this.

There had to be something Izuku could do. He could—

 _The glass is half empty._

He couldn't do anything. His quirk would only cause more strife.

His quirk made him a nuisance. He couldn't be a hero with it.

" _Izuku, I want you to remember this. No matter how bad things get, you have to look at the positives, okay. I know your quirk makes that hard, but you just have to stay optimistic," his mother said kindly._

 _He had just turned five. No one had come to his birthday party—they had been afraid something bad would happen if they did. He had been upset. He had just wanted friends, but every time he made an effort to befriend a classmate something happened that caused them to stay away from him._

 _He had come to learn that it wasn't just his quirk that was bad luck; he was bad luck._

" _Optimistic?" he had asked, curiosity floating in his bright green eyes._

" _Yes, Izuku, optimistic. It means to always look on the bright side. There's this saying." She turned away from him, and went to the kitchen to grab something. He waited for her to return. She does, with a glass of water. She bent down to his level, and gave him the glass. "Izuku, tell me something. Is this glass half full or half empty?"_

 _He stared at the glass, trying to understand what she meant. "It's half empty isn't it? Because half of it is gone?" He didn't know what she wanted him to say._

" _Izuku, honey, look at me." She looked at him with a warm smile, "You aren't wrong, there is only half a glass here, but the way you think about it tells a lot about you. An optimist would say the glass is half full, because it means that there is room for more. Saying the glass is half empty is like saying you can only ever take away from the glass. Do you understand?"_

 _He didn't, but he had nodded anyway._

 _It wasn't until a few years later, after the… incident, that he started to understand. He couldn't view the world as he was. His quirk made everything pessimistic, so he had to be the optimism, because life wouldn't give him it._

 _If he was going to view the glass it had to be half full, otherwise he was giving into his quirk. He couldn't do that. There was more to life than that—there had to be. The glass was half full._

There had to be something he could do. His legs had started to move him through the crowd. They weren't obeying his commands. He had to think of a plan before he was out in the open. He didn't have much time to analyze the situation—Bakugo didn't have that kind of time. No other heroes were going to save him.

This was his chance to do something. He was almost at the edge of the crowd now.

Scanning the ground he found a few pieces of debris.

He could use that.

He just needed… if he ran up to it, and hit its weak spot… the eye.

He needed to hit the eye.

How good was his aim? Could he even hit the eye if he threw something? Besides, if he tried to run he would trip… he had to account for everything that could go wrong the moment he stepped foot past the crowd.

Maybe… could he force himself to be unlucky? Surely, he could activate his quirk, right? The debris, it wasn't more than a few meters away from the slime villain. He could feint tripping… fall into a roll—he was good at that. He's fallen enough to know how to make it not look like an accident.

He had never forced his quirk to activate. When would he ever _need_ bad luck? Though… maybe it could be helpful. If he could force himself to trip right before the villain, then… He didn't have time to think anymore. Bakugo's struggling had lessened considerably. He was finally at the edge of the crowd, and his legs were still moving.

Without any hesitance, he ran out into the fray, focusing solely on his plan. It had to work. It just had to. He concentrated on his quirk, on the manifestation of his bad luck, trying to send it out in waves. He _was_ going to make this work.

The villain noticed him. It sent out a slime in his direction. He weaved his way around it. He was light on his feet, something that would be odd for him under normal circumstances, but right now he didn't have time to dwell on it. For now, he just focused on his plan.

As if on cue, he tripped, the villain's movements stopped, his didn't. He was expecting this. The villain was not. That split second of indecision by the villain, when its eyes went wide, gave Izuku his opening.

His fall turned into a roll, and he grabbed for a piece of debris—it helped that there was an abundance of it everywhere. He took the bit of rubble, a sizeable chunk of concrete, and hurled it at the villain. It landed square in the eye of the villain, which caused the villain to flinch and loosen his grip on Bakugo.

Izuku ran up to Bakugo, scrambling against the visceral sewage that covered the slime villain. The liquid like substance was difficult to tear apart, it kept reforming, but he still tried to rip it off and free Bakugo.

"What are you doing here, idiot?" Bakugo shouted at him.

"I-I just couldn't leave you-my legs just started moving, and I knew I had to do _something._ I saw you there, calling out for help, and I-I couldn't do nothing." Izuku didn't really know why he had opted to save Bakugo, all he knew was that his legs had moved on their own. The moment he has seen Bakugo, captured by the villain, he didn't have a choice; he had to help in some way.

The slime villain was regathering itself, preparing its counter strike. Just as it was about to launch its attack, there was a change in air pressure.

Out of seemingly no where, All Might showed up. He didn't waste any time, and ended the battle with his iconic attack.

"DETROIT SMASH!" His voice rang throughout the area.

The clouds themselves warped and twisted in response to his punch; rain washed down on them, drenching them in a coolness that juxtaposed the previous heat of the area.

Cheers rang out from the crowd as All Might pumped his fist in the air, a declaration of his victory.

The villain was hauled off by some police officers, and things were calming down.

Izuku sat, zoning out as some heroes scolded him for his reckless behavior. He wanted to lash out at them, to tell them that he was doing their job for them, but he held his tongue. He knew when to keep his mouth shut.

It irked him that Bakugo was praised for his quirk while he, the one who actually freed Bakugo from the villain, was berated. Though, he supposed, that _was_ just his luck.

Eventually, they let him go, telling him to not get himself caught up in anymore villain fights.

He walked home silently.

Overall, today had been… weird. He wouldn't say the day had been good by any standards, but it wasn't all bad. He still needed to apologize to All Might for causing the slime villain to escape that first time.

"Hey, you good for nothing nerd!" he jumped slightly at Bakugo's aggressive tone. He hadn't heard anyone walking up behind him, but then again, he hadn't really been paying attention. He turned to meet Bakugo, who was standing a good ten meters away from him, at the edge of the neighborhood.

The air between them was thick, tension building up with each passing second.

Bakugo didn't give him a chance to respond before he went on a tirade, "Just get this through your thick skull, I didn't ask for your dumb ass to come and save me, okay! I didn't _need_ you to save me, you pathetic cursed nerd! I may owe you now, but don't think this changes anything. You're still a nobody!" There was something odd in his voice, an emotion that Izuku couldn't discern immediately. Anger and hatred were dominant in his tone, but there were lingering traces of jealousy in his there as well.

Bakugo stormed off, not waiting to see if he had a response. Izuku didn't know what to say. He didn't regret saving Bakugo, even if he was an asshole with an ego the size of a mountain. He was still a person.

He smiled bitterly. Even if he had saved Bakugo, it didn't matter. Bakugo would always hate him, no matter what he did. Izuku was nothing more than curse in his eyes.

He turned around, intent to continue on his way home and just sleep. So much had happened today. He needed to sort through his thoughts.

Izuku went home, sighing as he opened the door. His mom tried to start a conversation with him, but he wasn't feeling up to it. He went to his room, and collapsed on his bed.

This was it, he couldn't be a hero. It didn't matter how optimistic he had been, none of that mattered if he refused to acknowledge reality. Bad luck had no business trying to be a hero. It was time he faced reality. The glass may be half full, but that didn't mean it was enough to change reality.

He couldn't be a hero.

* * *

Toshinori ran anxiously through the streets, filled with trepidation as he searched for that kid—he hadn't even gotten the his name. He needed to talk to him.

He was ashamed of himself. His actions on the roof had been diluted, misguided. They had been the words of a jaded person, not him. He should know better—he thought he was better than that.

He turned the corner of one of the neighborhoods. He was sure he had seen the kid walking in this direction, but he couldn't see him anywhere. Still he continued to search—he had to find him and right the wrongs he had done.

He turned another corner, hoping he would see them, but it was empty. He _knew_ he had seen him go off in this direction…

Just as luck would have it, he must have just missed him.

That kid… even with a quirk like his, one that would no doubt work against him, had run out at the villain in order to save that other boy, the one with the explosive quirk.

He had seen how the heroes on the scene had berated the kid for trying to help. They were hypocrites, yelling at him for being a nuisance when they hadn't even tried to help the boy that was taken hostage by the villain.

He wanted to set things right, tell the kid that even if what he had done was reckless, it had proved that he had the heart of a true hero.

His only problem was finding him.

He needed to find the kid, right the wrongs he had undoubtedly done to him. That kid had the makings of a true hero and maybe… just maybe he could be the next holder of One for All.

He continued his search, determined to find the kid and apologize.

* * *

AN: I hope you enjoyed that. :DDD Feel free to drop a review and let me know what you thought of it. This was new for me and I'm trying new things, so I know the writing isn't the best, but it'll get better!

Until next time,

Vera~


	2. Rebel without a Cause (08-12 15:54:28)

AN: Y'all I got such positive feedback for this fic, I'm dumbfounded. This was just a silly idea, and yet I've got so many people following this already. I'm honored, really, y'all are amazing!

Once again, I need to thank my beta Rzen, for her wonderful work and everything else she does. She's amazing.

I hope you enjoy Chapter two :DDDD

"You say one thing, he says another, and everybody changes back again."

Izuku dreaded going to school the next day. He knew what awaited him, the taunts and jeers that would be thrown his way for thinking he could have been a hero.

And he _had_ tried to be a hero, _had_ wanted to be one, even though he was… well, him. Trying to be a hero had been a mistake—he couldn't be a hero, that had been made clear to him yesterday.

His classmates would no doubt ask him what he had been thinking, acting like a hero yesterday. The truth was: he hadn't been thinking. All he knew was that Bakugo had been in trouble, and he had acted when no one else had, yet he still ended up being in the wrong. He was damned if he did, and damned if he didn't.

He hadn't set his alarm last night, and some small part of him hoped that he would sleep in because of it. For once though, he woke up early instead of late. Just his luck it seemed.

Today was going to be a long day, he could already tell.

Izuku took his time getting dressed, in no particular hurry to leave the sanctuary of his room. Once he had gotten dressed, he went to grab his backpack. As he was grabbing it, a strap snagged something and everything in his backpack went flailing.

He sighed, going to pick up the scattered notebooks and pencils.

 _The glass is half full, Izuku. Try to look on the bright side of things. Being a hero isn't everything, there are plenty of other things you can be… just, think realistically._

As he was putting his books back, one caught his eye. It was burnt around the edges and had water damage all over it.

Carefully, he grabbed it, looking it over he scoffed. He could make out the name he had written over the cover: 'Hero analysis book for the future no. 13'. He felt a swell of anger rise up when he saw the cover.

"Future hero," he rolled his eyes, "Yeah, right. That was just a petty dream—a fantasy I mixed up with reality." His voice was bitter, rueful regret coursing through his tone. He tossed the book aside. He wouldn't be needing it now anyway. He couldn't be a hero—even his idol had said so.

He shook his head of all his negativity, he _had_ to stay positive. He simply couldn't let himself dwell on the negative.

When he had finished collecting his things and putting them back in his backpack, he still had plenty of time until school would start. He took a deep, controlling breath. Today was going to be a good day, because now that he knew he _couldn't_ be a hero, he could focus on the future, and whatever that entailed for him.

He double checked his room to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything, before leaving and heading for the living room. Waking up this early did have one plus side, he could finally sit down and have breakfast with his mom.

He walked into the kitchen to see his mom was already up, fixing herself a cup of coffee to help ease her into the day. "Hey, mom," he said it rather meekly, usually he never woke up with enough time to greet her properly.

She turned to him, surprise flitting through her eyes, "Oh, Izuku, you're up? And you still have time before you need to go to class," she added, glancing quickly at the clock.

"Yeah," he smiled sheepishly at her, "I know… odd, right?"

She smiled warmly at him. "It may be odd, but it's certainly a nice change of pace."

A genuine smile lit up Izuku's face, "Yeah, it is kind of nice, I guess." For what it was worth, no matter how bad his luck seemed to turn, he figured it had been on his side at least once, because he was pretty _lucky_ to have his mom.

Sitting down and eating breakfast, Izuku thought to himself that it was really nice to be able to sit down and relax with his mom like this. He hadn't gotten a chance to do that last night—he had been too caught up in his own head to even hold a proper conversation with her.

They talked about miscellaneous things. He avoided talking about what had happened yesterday and she had had the sense not to ask. He was sure, however, that she had seen the news and had been worried about him, but whatever fears she had seemed to dissipate once she knew he was okay.

Once he had finished breakfast, he glanced at the clock. He was right on schedule with his normal routine, meaning if he left now, he could take the normal route and still be on time to class.

He sighed as he got up from the kitchen table, and said goodbye to his mother. He closed the door to their apartment and turned heel… to immediately trip over his laces. He really needed to buy shoes that didn't have laces, his would eternally come undone due to his quirk.

He quickly fashioned his laces into a quintupled knot, hooping that would last until the end of the day. Just as yesterday, the elevator was still broken, forcing him to take the stairs. He wasn't in a rush to get to class, and because of that, he was able to watch where he was going more carefully and avoided running into anyone as he left the building.

He took the long way around to school, mostly because he wanted to avoid the place for as long as he could. He wasn't in any hurry to face his peers. He was silently going over what they had done in class yesterday, trying to figure out if there was any assignments he was supposed to have done by today.

So lost in thoughts, or perhaps his quirk had manifested, he didn't notice the man that was rushing through the streets. Needless to say, since both parties weren't exactly paying very much attention to their surroundings, they collided into each other.

Izuku was quicker to regain himself, used to things like this happening to him. He gathered his things and apologized quickly, not giving the man time to say anything—he wasn't in the mood to be yelled at for not paying attention.

Somehow, despite his best efforts to be late, he managed to get to school on time.

Throughout the day, he tried to make himself scarce, not wanting to interact with any of his classmates. For the most part, they left him alone, avoided him like a plague, because, to them, he was one. A few people called him out on his attempt at heroism, much to his ire, but besides a few jibes at his person, it wasn't that bad.

Everything was normal for him, the day was a typical day for him, and he had thought that maybe he would be fine. He could just forget about what had happened yesterday. Of course, luck was never on his side.

"Hey, loser," one particularly nasty kid sneered, "I heard you tried to be a hero yesterday."

He didn't acknowledge them, they only wanted a reaction out of him, he knew that—he didn't know anything about them besides their quirk, which was dislodging their eyes from their skull. He refused to give them what they wanted, but the kid wasn't content with his lack of response. The kid shoved him.

The kid's eyes were dark and fierce as he glared at Izuku, "I'm talking to ya!"

Izuku sighed, he had hoped to get through the day without anyone bothering him, but, of course, someone had to stop him as he was walking through the hallways.

"Don't got anything to say?" The kid scoffed at his lack of response, "Yeah, I thought so. When are you going to get it through your thick skull that you will never be a hero." He shoved Izuku as he walked away.

Unfortunately, for everyone in the school, Izuku had been standing by the wall, right by the fire alarm. He didn't hit the alarm, but his bad luck seeped into the walls, and it went off anyway.

When the alarm blared, Izuku stopped, then sighed. "Great… could this day get any worse?…" he knew that was a dumb question, as long as he had his quirk, then the day could always get worse.

The fire alarm had caused a panic throughout the school, and thus, they had ended up letting class out early.

Izuku was okay with that, it meant he didn't have to deal with his peers or their incessant taunts and jeers. Now, he was able to collect himself; he didn't really want to go home right now, his mom would just dote and worry over him, and he didn't _have_ to be home for quite some time yet.

He decided to walk the streets. He didn't have a destination in mind, so he found himself wandering the streets aimlessly. He was avidly trying to avoid people though, as the more people he ran into the more likely it was for him to bump into or disturb them. Just because he wasn't having a great day didn't mean that he needed his bad luck to spread to them.

Somehow, his feet ended up taking him towards the scene of the slime villain incident from yesterday.

He scoffed as he saw some of carnage left from the villain's attack. How had he thought he could ever be a hero? He was nothing but some unlucky kid whose dreams just weren't realistic.

He really should heed All Mights advice and think more realistically. He couldn't be a hero, but he could help people still… right? There _had_ to be something he could do, there just had to be.

He was pulled from his musings by a voice calling out to him. He wasn't in the mood to interact with any one, but it seemed as though luck wasn't on his side. He heaved a sigh, slowly stopping in his wandering to turn his attention to the person who had called for him.

What he saw was the absolute last person he wanted to see right now: All Might.

Toshinori had been searching the city all day, trying to find that kid. He had to find him. _He had to._ There were things he wanted to clear up with the kid, mainly his erroneous statement from before; how could he tell someone he barely knew that they couldn't be a hero?

He had been wrong to judge a person based solely on what their quirk was. At the time, in his head, it had been a sound argument. With a quirk like that—he had certainly never heard of someone claiming to have a quirk like that before—being a hero would be dangerous. However, he had seen the kid in action, and there had been no hesitation in his actions, only unbridled determination.

It had been a long time since Toshinori had seen something like that. Heroes nowadays were all about their presentation, about how they presented themselves to society, and how much money they could make. A real hero shouldn't care about that, their top priority should always be to save people.

He was starting to think that he would never see the kid again—never be able to make amends, to fix what he had done.

It was a stroke of luck, Toshinori concluded, when, as he was passing a street, he saw a glomp of green hair walking in the opposite direction. He wasted no time in changing direction to follow the person. He couldn't be sure that it was the same kid, but this was the closest lead he had had all day.

Unfortunately, he got stopped by the traffic lights. They all turned red just as he neared the crosswalks.

He waited anxiously for the light to turn so he could continue his quest to find the kid. Once it did he ran—speed walked—to the other side.

When he turned the corner he saw the kid had stopped and was looking at the street to his right. Toshinori followed his gaze, and saw the remnants from the villain attack yesterday. Somehow, they had ended up back at that scene.

He shook his head, trying to focus. He was here to talk to the kid—he really did need to find out his name. Toshinori took up his All MIght form before walking forward, confidence radiating off of him in waves.

He took one step forward… and crashed unceremoniously on the sidewalk. As silly as it was, when he looked to see what had caused him to slip, he saw a banana peel laid out innocently on the sidewalk. Toshinori, or rather, All Might shook in a disappointed fashion, unable to believe that someone would just leave this lying around. He moved to pick the banana peel up, and throw it away in the trash.

Before he could pick it up though, a voice called out to him, "You," it was shaky and sounded disbelieving, he looked up to a pair of wide green eyes, "What are you doing here?"

"Why, isn't it obvious," he plastered his iconic smile on his face and stood up, brushing off the nonexistent dirt from his shirt, "I am here, to talk to you."

The kids eyebrows furrowed, "I-I," realization flickered in his green orbs before resignation fell over his entire visage, "Oh… I see," he dipped his head down, "Look, I'm sorry I was a nuisance yesterday… it won't happen again."

He had screwed up big time. This kid had the entirely wrong idea behind why he had sought him out; what made this all the worse was that he couldn't really fault the kid for thinking that, with what he had said to the kid the other day.

He had to fix this, "You misunderstand—"

"No," the kid held up a hand, "I get it. I _really_ do," Toshinori winced at the pain that was imbedded in his voice, "I know I should have just let the professionals handle it… someone like, with a quirk like," he gestured to himself, "mine… that just _is_ misfortune, has no business trying to be a hero…"

Toshinori was speechless, which didn't happen often. He was usually good with words, they came easily to him, but this time… the words just wouldn't come. He had _really_ messed up this time.

"Kid…" he stopped, if he wanted to do this right, he needed to know the kid's name, "what's your name?"

The kid looked at him incredulously, confusion running ragged across his face, "Uh… Midoriya Izuku…"

"Midoriya," Toshinori looked at him, his tone reflecting only the utmost seriousness, "you have the makings of a true hero."

Midoriya looked at him, flabbergasted by his statement. He opened his mouth as if to respond before closing it, he repeated this action multiple times. Despair settled in his eyes, " _Why?"_

Toshinori was shocked to say the least. He expected the kid to be excited—maybe a little disbelieving— but he heard, nor saw either. A resigned sorrow was implied in his tone, and his eyes were darker, jaded even.

Midoriya looked away from him then, "Why would you say that?... Just yesterday you said the exact opposite…" When he turned back to look at him, tears had welled up in his eyes, "You can't just say something like that… It's not fair."

Oh. He understood now. This kid, he was jaded, that much was obvious, but he hadn't thought about the weight his words would carry, nor had he thought about the consequences. He knew he had messed up before, but now it was painfully clear that reversing the damage wasn't something a few pretty words could fix.

"Midoriya… I was wrong, back there, on the roof. I said things that I regret, and it took your actions to remind me what it truly meant to be a hero." He said it earnestly, hoping to get through to the kid.

Cocking his head, Midoriya gave him an inquisitive look, "I don't… what do you mean? I was told that what I did was incredibly reckless and idiotic… that I was just a hindrance for the _real_ heros." He spit out the words, as if disgusted by them. He then muttered, "Wasn't like they actually did anything though…"

"Hypocrites," Toshinori said offhandedly, before addressing Midoriya again, "While what you did _was_ reckless and foolish, it was only because you, the least suited person in the crowd, acted when no one else would that I was able to come in when I did."

"That's not—" His voice shook.

Toshinori cut him off with a wave of his hand, "At that moment, I _wasn't_ being a true hero. I expected the other heroes to help. That's not what a hero should do." Toshinori shook his head, this wasn't going the way he had planned. He was flustered, and couldn't seem to find the words… this had never happened to him before. Typically, words were something that came easy to him.

Right now though… he felt as though the words refused to come.

"All Might…" he was pulled from his thoughts by the tentative voice of Midoriya, "look, appreciate you saying that… but… it's not necessary."

Toshinori tensed at the resignation in Midoriya's voice.

"It is necessary," he started, mouth working faster than his brain, "Many of the best heroes share one commonality from their school days… they all share one story of heroism; their feet moved on their own. That's what happened to you yesterday, correct?"

"I-I…" Midoriya nodded, unable to form any words it seemed.

"Midoriya," his voice was filled with confidence, "when I said that someone like you couldn't be a hero, I was wrong. You can be a hero."

All Might… was walking down the street towards him.

Izuku didn't want to talk to him, he really didn't. He knew he had screwed up yesterday, he didn't need yet _another_ person telling him how reckless he had been.

However…

As the conversation went on, it became clear that All Might hadn't come to berate him, rather he told him he _could_ be a hero. Izuku was frozen by those words, tears, that had already welled up, were falling from his face.

No one had ever told him he _could_ be anything, let alone a hero. They only ever told him what he couldn't be, but now… Now All Might, the number one hero, was telling him that he _could_ be a hero.

He didn't have any words.

There wasn't anything he could say. He was overwhelmed. All Might had told him the words he had always wanted to hear, but never had. He was a nuisance, a curse, walking bad luck… he had no business being a hero, but then, maybe… luck had nothing to do with being a hero.

All Might's intense gaze was focused on him, "You, young Midoriya, are the one who I have deemed worthy of my power." His voice was dramatic and all encompassing.

"Huh?" Izuku wasn't sure he had heard that right. _Worthy of his… power?_

"Don't look at me like that. It's only a suggestion right now." There wasn't any trace of jovial jokingness or deception in his voice, but still… what he had said made no sense. You couldn't just give power to someone else… could you?

"I don't—"

He was cut off by All Might pointing at him, deflating back to his skeletal form. and spitting out blood, "Whether or not you obtain my power is up to you, and how much effort you give!"

Izuku was still confused. That didn't make any sense.

All Might seemed to understand his confusion and continued, "I'm talking about my quirk. My quirk is not like other quirks, you see, it is much like a sacred torch passed down from one bearer to the next."

"A quirk that can… be passed down?" Izuku inquired, still a bit hesitant to believe All Might. He had never heard of a quirk like that.

"Exactly! And I've picked you to be the next bearer of my quirk."

Izuku wasn't buying it… but some part of him _wanted_ to believe All Might. Quirks were unique to everyone, so it shouldn't be _unheard_ of for a quirk to be transferred, and yet, he _had never_ heard of one like that.

All Might spread his hands out in a dramatic gesture, "The power to transfer and stockpile power, One for All."

"One… For… All…?" Izuku repeated. This felt like a dream, something too good to be true. Izuku was simply _not_ this lucky. Things like this didn't happen to him.

"It's a power that is cultivated, then granted to the next bearer, who will then foster that power before giving it to another bearer, and so on and so forth…"

"But why," Izuku interrupted his monologue, a question bearing down on his mind, "Why give it me? Someone like me…" he turned away from All Might. "Surely, there's someone far more suited for a quirk like that…"

"Midoriya," All Might begane, tone tired but determined, "I have been searching for a successor for a while now, and you, someone who has extraordinary bad luck, have proved to be worthy of my power. Yesterday, you were more heroic than any of those other Pro Heroes were."

Again, Izuku was at a loss for words. He was overwhelmed, the tears refused to halt in their assault, now falling freely from his face.

"Of course," All Might's tone took on nonchalance, "the decision is ultimately yours to make."

 _This can't be true. There's simply no way that this could happen… but_

Izuku desperately tried to wipe the tears that were falling down his face. This couldn't be real, it couldn't, and yet…

 _The glass is half full._

It was.

All Might had just told him the secret behind his power, had just offered it to him, someone who emanated bad luck just as easily as he breathed, and All Might was entrusting his power to him… it was unbelievable.

There just wasn't _any_ way he could be so lucky.

 _It has nothing to do with luck… luck isn't the reason All Might is giving you his power. You proved yourself, luck isn't a part of the equation._

Something in the back of his mind stopped him from accepting the offer though.

 _If All Might says I can be hero… then why do I need to accept his quirk? The power he has… it's amazing, but… it's not mine._

Weariness and doubt flashed across his eyes, "That's…" he gave All Might a pointed look, "You just said I _could_ be a hero, but now you're saying I need your quirk? That's not-what you're saying doesn't line up with your actions."

Sighing, All Might shook his head, "Midoriya, it is true that I said you can be a hero, and I'm not implying that you need my quirk to do that… All I'm saying is that I have found you to be worthy of my power. Whether you choose to accept it or not is up to you, but either way, regardless on if you choose to be my successor or not, I would like to mentor you."

Izuku paused. This hadn't been what he was expecting. It was one thing for the number one hero to seek him out and tell him he could be a hero, it was another thing to have them offer their power to him. However, it was completely different to have said hero not only offer their power to him, but offer to mentor him regardless of his decision.

"I-I…" He didn't know how to answer that. He couldn't give an answer yet.

"You don't have to give me an answer right now," All Might relented. "I know it's a lot to take in, but please, allow me to assist you in becoming a hero."

Izuku didn't really have to think about his answer this time. He could dwell on the rest later, but for now, determined green eyes gazed resolutely at electric blue. He still wasn't sure on if he would take All Might's quirk, but he wasn't going to let an opportunity such as this slip by.

Izuku made sure to set his alarm numerous times for the following day. This was the only way to be sure he woke up when he needed to in order for him to meet All Might at the beach at six.

They had agreed to start his training today, and he really didn't want to be late. He woke up to the second alarm he had set, batting a hand at the alarm to shut it up. All he managed to do was knock it over and out of reach, making him have to physically get up to turn it off. Because he was tangled in his sheets, instead of slipping out of bed, he fell and slammed his chin on the ground.

"Off to a great start," he muttered sarcastically. _Glass half full. You're getting up early to train with the number one hero, that's something._

Despite his initial bad luck to begin the day, Izuku couldn't help the smile that tugged at his face.

He yawned as he made his way to the beach—where he and All Might had agreed to meet. The sun had yet to rise, leaving the streets dark, save for the few street lamps littered throughout the neighborhood.

Under one street light, sitting in the spotlight, was a black cat. It sat, poised in a regal position, tail flickering about, a shadow in the early light.

Izuku stopped in his walk, and knelt down, holding his hand out for the cat. Golden eyes landed on his green ones, and the cat meowed, before sitting up, ambling towards him on three legs. Izuku waited patiently for the black cat to make his acquaintance.

"Here, Shichi," he called out while clicking his tongue. He knew this cat, had even saved her a few years back when she had been hit by a car—for a black cat she sure was unlucky—though he supposed that could just be because he was nearby. Either way, he had essentially adopted the cat in a way.

Shichi had a home now, but she was an outdoor cat. He had also been the one to give her a name. She had grown somewhat attached to him, so every once in a while, when walking through the neighborhood, he would run into her.

Shichi purred as she rubbed against Izuku's leg. Izuku, in turn, pet her and scratched under her chin.

"Are you going to follow me to the beach then, Shichi?" he asked, knowing he wasn't going to get a response.

He stood up and started walking, Shichi bounding after him, only lagging slightly behind because of her missing leg. They walked in peace, the streets still quiet

The sun had barely peaked the horizon by the time he made it to the destination, Shichi in tow. The beach before him was littered with garbage, an actual mountain of trash obscured the view of the ocean.

"Good Morning, young Midoriya," Izuku was startled by the loud and vibrant voice of All Might coming from behind him. He was in his hero form, Izuku noted.

He offered a sheepish wave, "Good morning," he gazed around the garbage filled beach, "So… what now?" He wasn't sure what the plan was as he hadn't officially accepted All Might's offer for his quirk.

He had thought about it all night, but he still wasn't sure if he should take it or not. On one hand, it _was_ a very powerful quirk that would no doubt help him become a hero… but on the other hand, it felt like cheating, like if he took it, it somehow invalidated his struggle up until this point. He had fought for so long, trying to prove that even with his quirk, he could be a hero. To take All Might's quirk, well it felt as though that would be saying that they were right, that he couldn't become a hero with just his quirk.

"Now," All Might's voice brought him out of his daze, "we need to train you. It doesn't matter if you accept my offer or not, your body needs some work," he gestured to Izuku, "You're like a twig, and if you plan to be a hero, then you need to have some muscle mass."

Izuku nodded dully, he should have expected this. It wasn't that he was against weight training, he had even tried to do it once before. The problem lied with his quirk. Bad luck and working with heavy weights was not a good combination.

Shichi meowed, not happy with the lack of attention she was garnering from the two.

All Might looked at the cat, then back at Izuku, "Is that you cat?"

"No," Izuku shook his head, "Shichi lives a few blocks away from me, but I was the one that saved her when she was hit by a car some two years ago…" Izuku turned his head down to Shichi, who was now rubbing up against his leg and purring, "Since then she's kinda been attached to me…" Shichi meowed in agreeance.

Izuku looked up to see All Might regarding him with curiosity.

He gave him a questioning look, "Is… is something wrong?" he intoned, afraid he had done something wrong.

"No, nothing like that-just… I am rather curious, is all." All Might started, his voice the epitome of inquisitiveness.

"Curious?" Izuku cocked his head to the side, "About what?"

"Midoriya," All Might said, a seriousness ebbing into his tone, "I don't mean to pry, but… that scar," he indicated to his neck, and Izuku immediately knew what he was talking about.

Subconsciously, he put a hand on the scar, he had forgotten how visible of a scar it was when he wore t-shirts. Usually, it was mostly covered by the collar of his uniform, but now he was wearing a regular t-shirt.

The scar wasn't pretty. It was a jagged line that ran down from his behind his ear down to his chest. Memories flashed across his eyes, memories he'd rather forget.

"Oh this," he chuckled weakly, trying to brush it off, but he failed miserably, "it's nothing… happened a long time ago…"

All Might looked skeptical, but didn't say anything else on the matter, much to Izuku's delight. He didn't want to think about his scars. He had many smaller scars adorning his skin due to tripping and running into things all the time, but this scar was different, the weight this scar held dragged him down whenever he thought about it.

"I see… well, anyway, we should get started." All Might stated enthusiastically.

Izuku looked around, taking in all the garbage that littered the beach, "So… what exactly are we doing?"

"Why," his voice boomed, and Shichi's tail puffed out at the suddenness of it, "young Midoriya, you're going to clean up the beach."

He sounded so enthused; Izuku just stared at him disbelievingly. "Uh-huh, and why," he gazed upon a particularly tall pile of trash to his left, "am I cleaning the beach, exactly?"

All Might sighed indignantly, "Kid, people nowadays are all about flashiness, but that's not the basis of a good hero. I have always thought that true heroism has to be brought out through hard work. This beach," he indicated, "will be your first step in becoming a true hero! It was left to rot, and because of the sea currents, more and more trash has piled up, so you're," he pointed at Izuku, "going to clean up this beach and bring it to its former glory."

All Might's confidence radiated off of him so easily, and Izuku wondered, briefly, if he could ever compare to someone like that. People tended to stay away from him, his quirk radiating bad vibes just as easily as All Might exuded confidence, so some part of him doubted he even _could_ become a hero like All Might. However, another, stronger part of him—the part that refused to yield to his quirk—told him to stop dwelling on the negatives and focus on the positives.

 _The glass is half full, just remember that._

"Midoriya," All Might turned his attention to Izuku, "which school are you applying to?"

Izuku startled at the odd question, but answered it honestly, "I applied to Yuuei… because if there's one school I could go to… it'd have to be that one."

"I see, and their entrance exam is in ten months correct?" He asked, but he sounded as though he already knew the answer.

Izuku nodded. "Yeah… ten months."

"Well, then that leaves us with just enough time to get you in shape!" Again, Izuku was mystified over how exuberant All Might could be. Even Shichi, who had taken to sleeping inside an old worn tire, meowed in agreeance.

Ten months went by much faster than Izuku had anticipated. It had been hard going, but he had been determined to prove to All Might, and himself, that he could do it. Of course, his bad luck did prove to be a slight problem as he never seemed to wake up to his alarms and would trip on his morning runs, but he was able to work around that.

Cleaning up the beach proved to a much more harrowing endeavor than he had initially thought, but he never gave up. Each new challenge was faced with determination, and a few miscalculations, which lead to more work in the end, but Izuku really didn't mind. He was getting stronger, he could tell.

He would set up at least three alarms everyday and bought himself shoes that didn't need laces—they were still red, but took on a more boot-like quality than sneakers—so that made tripping happen less often. When he did manage to trip it became another drill. He would have to do some kind of tactical maneuver to prevent himself from falling flat on his face.

Shichi joined him on his morning runs almost everyday, chasing after him on her three legs and yowling whenever he tripped. Izuku was convinced she was just laughing at him.

He was exhausted all the time, but that was a price he was willing to pay. All Might had drawn up a workout plan for him, and he followed it vigorously, though, due to his bad luck, he did end up having to compensate for a few things which ended up making him pass out a few times. As much of a pain that had been, he didn't regret any of it because he could see the difference, day by day, that this workout was making.

Today was the day of the entrance exam and although he could tell he was much stronger than he had been ten months ago, he still didn't feel ready. He held so many doubts about his own abilities. Not to mention, through all these ten months, he had been contemplating over if he should take All Might up on his offer.

He had finally come to a decision.

He had woken up early today, having been awoken by the first alarm, and was jogging to the beach. He still had a few more pieces of junk to move in order for the beach to be clean and he was determined to have it done before he met up with All Might at six.

He was jogging when his foot hit uneven gravel, instinctually he turned the fall into a roll and continued his jog, not having been slowed down in the least. He smirked at the feat.

From the alleyway he heard a crash and stopped, unease filling his head before it all dissipated upon seeing too glowing yellow slits.

"Shichi, is that you?" He called out and heard a meow back. Yep, it was Shichi. She had taken to sleeping outside, in alleyways or under parked cars, so that she would be able to follow him each morning.

Ambling up to his side, Shichi purred and rubbed up against his leg. She was always happy to see him, even if by being by his side, she found herself in more trouble than necessary. She never seemed to mind her bad luck though, and Izuku found it funny that for being a symbol of good luck, she sure didn't have any.

"Come on, Shichi." he called to her as he started jogging at a brisk pace, "Today's the day you know."

Shichi meowed in response. She was a very talkative cat, Izuku thought absentmindedly as he continued towards the beach.

Toshinori was excited as he made his way to the beach to meet with Young Midoriya one last time before the Yuuei entrance exam. He was nervous as well. Today he would get an answer from Izuku regarding One For All, and he couldn't help but fear that Midoriya would refuse the offer.

He wouldn't blame Midoriya for not wanting to take his power, given the reasons he gave, but he _didn't_ want Midoriya to think that that was why he was offering him the power. It wasn't that he thought Midoriya couldn't be a hero with his quirk—well, not anymore at least, after having seen him in action—but he thought that Midoriya truly did have the heart of a hero. If anyone _deserved_ the power of One For All, it was Midoriya.

Him offering his power to Midoriya wasn't him saying that he thought he needed it, rather it was him saying that he _earned_ this power, and the right to wield it.

He arrived at the beach at six exactly, only to see that the beach was clear of everything, with Midoriya and his unlikely pet cat standing at the beaches edge, feet tempting the ocean. He hadn't expected Midoriya to clean it completely so quickly.

"Young Midoriya," he called, out, resuming his All Might form.

MIdoriya turned to look at him, exhaustion plastered on his face. "All Might… I did it," he offered weakly.

"You did an astonishing job, my boy!" He was extremely proud of how far Midoriya had come in such a short time. "Now, you have truly reached your starting point in becoming a hero."

"Yeah," Midoriya looked at his hands in disbelief, "It feels like a dream, honestly… like I've somehow cheated, because—"

Toshinori held up a hand, stopping Midoriya mid sentence, "Young Midoriya, you have worked hard for your feats. Do not diminish your own hard work."

"Yeah," he started sheepishly, "I know. There's a difference between earning something and just being lucky," he then pointed to himself, still wearing his sheepish grin, "and we both know I'm rather… unlucky."

They both chuckled softly at that, knowing that it was true. Midoriya was definitely the most unlucky person he knew. He hadn't even known that it was possible for someone to be that unlucky, but Midoriya had once again, proven his thoughts wrong.

"Midoriya," his voice turned serious. Now was the moment of truth, he would either have a successor for One For All or he wouldn't. "Have you made a decision regarding my offer then?"

Midoriya looked at him then, determination resolute in his green eyes, "I have." He paused for a second, before continuing, "I thought it over a lot the past ten months, and I've come to a decision. I was never one to be picked for anything… nobody, besides my mom, had ever been on my side before. I was always told what I couldn't be, but then you told me that I _could_ be something, that I could be a hero like I'd always wanted." His voice conveyed conviction, and Toshinori waited anxiously for his response.

"Then you offered me more power, and at first, I thought that it was your way of taking pity on me, because you said I could be a hero, just not with my quirk. I didn't want that, I don't need pity."

"That's not," Toshinori started, unable to formulate any words—he hadn't offered Midoriya One For All because of pity.

"I know that now," Midoriya cut in, "You offered it to me because you saw something else in me, something that you thought was worthy of wielding that power and knowing that… I accept your offer. I will be your successor, All Might."

His eyes were ablaze with a fierce green fire so bright that Toshinori had no doubt he had chosen the perfect suitor for his quirk.

AN: Hope Y'all enjoyed. let me know what you thought, I love hearing from ya!

Until next time,

Vera~


	3. Safety Last!

AN: So, I wanted to get this out before classes started... that did not happen, so classes are underway and that means I have less free time. However, even if both Rzen and I have classes now, we're still gonna make it work! :DD

Hope you enjoy this chapter :D

* * *

"Young man, don't you know you might fall and get hurt?"

* * *

Izuku set his gaze on the large building before him. Now that he was standing before the gates of Yuuei, he doubted he was ready. He sure didn't feel ready, all he felt was that familiar omen of bad luck.

He watched anxiously as people walked past him towards the entrance exam, but he remained standing there in awe and fear. If he passed the exam he would end up going to the number one school for future hero prospects, if not… he shook his head, not wanting to think about it.

He didn't even know if All Might's quirk had actually transferred to him. He gagged at the memory of earlier that morning.

After he had accepted All Might's power, he had expected the transfer of power to be more… symbolic in nature, not eating a piece of his hair. It made sense, he guessed, but it was still disgusting.

He had told Shichi to go home after that, not wanting her to be around all these people. Plus, he was starting to think that Shichi's owners might be getting worried lately with how much she's been gone, out training with him. He was about to take a step forward when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Oi, Deku! Get the fuck outta my way! Or do you wanna be trampled!" He froze at the words, Bakugo sparking a nervousness in him that he hated.

He said nothing as Bakugo shoved past him, sending him a glare filled with antipathy. Ever since that villain attack, Bakugo had left him alone, but that didn't mean Izuku had forgotten what he had done that day prior to the attack. The fact that he had just acted like it hadn't even happened only made Izuku grow the slightest bit of resentment towards him. He just didn't understand why Bakugo had done it. Why he had said that… Why was Bakugo trying to be a hero if all he did was cause pain for others?

Izuku shook his head of those thoughts, and took his first step forward, determined for today to be a good day.

Luck had other ideas.

The moment he took a step, his foot twisted, and he fell. He really should have expected this, he thought bitterly, as he naturally fell into a roll—he was so used to this by now, and had such extensive practice now that it came easy to him.

"Oh wow," he heard a voice call out behind him. He turned to see a girl smiling down at him in awe. "I was worried you were going to fall and get hurt. I was going to use my quirk to stop you, but it looks like you had it under control the entire time." She offered up her hand to help him up. He took it wordlessly—he wasn't used to people being impressed with him, only irritated.

"Man, I'm nervous," she prattled on in an overtly bubbly voice, "I bet you are too though… well good luck," she waved to him as she walked away.

He watched her go, her light brown hair bounced in step with her stride. He chuckled to himself slightly, and mumbled, "I doubt _luck_ will help me out at all." She hadn't known him at all, and yet, she had been so nice to him… it was probably _because_ she hadn't known him that she was able to be nice to him.

No, that wasn't fair. He shouldn't judge her like that—she had been nice to him, and even helped him up after he had tripped. With a smile on his face, he walked forward. Confidence he hadn't had before flowed through his veins.

* * *

Somehow, despite his best efforts, he ended up sitting next to Bakugo. He knew it was because they were from the same school that they were seated next to each other, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Neither him, nor Bakugo seemed to pleased with the seating. Bakugo refused to stop sending smoldering scowls in his general direction.

Izuku cast sidelong glances at him, annoyed at his distracting behavior. "Could you knock it off? Sending me death glares won't make me leave," he seethed under his breath, trying to remain quiet. He caught a few people giving them wary glances.

"You shouldn't be here," Bakugo retorted in a quiet, yet still menacing voice.

They were both jolted from their conversation by the sound of Present Mic announcing his presence to them all. Izuku quickly turned his attention to the pro hero, encapsulated by the fact that he was in the presence of Present Mic, who quickly began explaining how the exam worked.

Izuku tried to listen, but his own fanboy nature caught up with him, and he couldn't help but mumble out a few praises for the pro hero—he did listen to his weekly radio show after all. He had heard rumors that the teachers at Yuuei were pro's, but he hadn't thought it to be true until now, or well, he was starting to believe it more now that Present Mic was explaining the entrance exam to them.

The exam sounded pretty straight forward, from what Izuku gathered. They were to be divided into groups—hopefully, he wouldn't be with Bakugo, though, with his luck, hoping was never helpful—once they were divided into groups, they would be sent to the location where the rest of the exam would take place.

Apparently, they were going to fight robots—though the robots had different point values to them—there were three robots, with a point value of either one, two or three. So essentially, Izuku thought, the goal was to fight as many robots as possible, but then, how many people were in each group? And how many robots would there be? How even would the distribution be? He was brought out of his musings by another student standing up and addressing Present Mic.

"Excuse me sir, but I have a question?" the kid asked, his voice nothing short of professional. "There are clearly four types of robots here on this handout we were given. Care to explain?" He took a breath before continuing, "That being said," he turned to face Izuku's direction, and gazed at him with intense eyes, "You. Curly haired kid." The intense kid was talking to him, no doubt. "Could you please cease your mumbling? It's very distracting for us other students."

Oh… he was being a nuisance again. He silently nodded, and wilted in on himself. The kid nodded then took his seat.

Present Mic started to explain what the fourth robot was, everyone had moved on from the kid's outburst by now, but the embarrassment still burned brightly in Izuku. It was just his luck—or maybe, it was just his personality—to have been called out like that.

Just as Present Mic was about to finish his speech—he had already finished explaining how the fourth robot was worth zero points, just something meant as a distraction or road block for them to avoid—his speakers cut out. Everything went silent. Izuku froze… a pro's support gear didn't just… cut off. No, but he had been… and his quirk was tricky… He had caused the Pro's support gear to short circuit because he couldn't control his quirk.

He clenched his fists—no one else knew about his quirk, something he was grateful for—Bakugo gave him a rueful glare though.

Because of the technical difficulties, they were let loose to go to their assigned area, which had been given to them in the handouts they had been given when they checked in.

It wasn't really hard to find the areas, they were really big structures that you couldn't miss, plus they were labeled easily, and yet, he still managed to go to the wrong area twice before finding the correct one.

Once he was there, he noticed that same girl from earlier was off in the corner, taking deep breaths. He wanted to wish her luck—or well, maybe not luck, but he wanted to wish her well on the exam. She had been nice to him, and he wanted her to do well in this exam. However, he was stopped by someone grabbing his shoulder. He tensed, but forced himself to relax quickly.

"What are you doing?" It was that same guy from earlier, the one who had called him out. This guy really didn't give off the best first impression—he was too intense for Izuku's liking.

"I was—" he made a frantic hand gesture toward the girl, "I wanted to— See, she had—"

"You shouldn't disturb her, or was that your plan?" His voice was still stern, and his eyes, behind the glasses, were piercing.

"What? No, I wasn't— I would never," he started, flabbergasted that he was being accused of trying to cheat, in a sense, by distracting the competition. He wouldn't do that, he wanted to earn his spot at Yuuei, otherwise it would be meaningless.

Around him some people had become aware of their little squabble, taking note of his anxiousness. He could hear whispers from other students preparing for the exam, people commenting on his odd nature and befuddled appearance.

Izuku could only guess what they were thinking… but if he were to go off of their expressions, he would say that they thought they were _lucky_ to have him as competition. He thought otherwise. He knew he didn't look all that impressive, and his conversation with that guy had left him looking less than stellar, but that was hardly reason to dismiss him. Izuku thought that it was rather unfortunate for them to have to be caught up with him and his unfortunate quirk.

He just shook their words off—he was used to it, and besides, he now had One For All in his grasp… He just… didn't know how to use it.

All Might had told him back on the beach that he wouldn't be able to use it for a few hours—that had been a _few_ hours ago—but that hardly made a difference.

The memory from this morning came to mind...

* * *

" _So, how exactly does this work?" Izuku had asked All Might, looking a little lost at the situation._

 _All Might either didn't hear him, or ignored him, as he was busy plucking a hair out of his head. He held the strand out to Izuku, who looked more than confused, "Eat this."_

 _Oh. Well then…_

" _Umm… is that— is that really necessary?" he asked while eyeing the hair suspiciously._

" _One For All needs to be transmitted through DNA. Only I can will it to be transferred to another person._

 _Still eyeing it with disgust, Izuku questioned, "But does it_ _have_ _to be your hair?"_

" _Well, no," All Might stood up a bit straighter, "I suppose it could be any form of my DNA, such as blood, skin, mucus, or—"_

" _No," Izuku cut him off, not needing—nor wanting—to hear anymore, "hair is fine." He quickly took the strand of All Might's hair._

 _He gave All Might a pointed look, "Welp, this hair must be...," he smiled deviously before finishing, "the stuff that dreams are made of."_

 _He had gagged as it went down, but forced himself to keep it in. Now, he just hoped it had worked._

 _All Might stared at him dubiously, "Did you… was that a—"_

" _Yes," Izuku quickly confirmed, not giving any more insight before shrugging his shoulder, "So," he began, "will I like, know when it's taken affect or…"_

 _All Might gazed at him intently before smiling, "It'll take a few hours to kick in. In the meantime, you only have two hours until your exam."_

 _Shichi, who had previously been watching the two in silent judgement, mrowed at him, before getting up and stretching._

* * *

Lost in his reverie, he didn't notice that everyone had already started to sprint towards the entrance for the exam. He couldn't afford to be left behind…

A thought crossed his mind, but he wasn't sure of he should do it. He _had_ been practicing his control over his quirk, however, he still wasn't very good at it—the fact that he caused Present Mic's speakers to short circuit was proof enough that it wasn't fine tuned enough yet. On the other hand, he would never get better if he didn't try, and there was one thing he had been practicing for this moment…

He started to run, a good distance behind the rest, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. He needed to pass this exam. He had a quirk, an unfortunate quirk, but one nonetheless, and he would use it as much as he could, or else, what chance would he have at being a hero?

So, he focused on his quirk, letting it manifest, trying to contain it. A push and pull of some intangible force. He pulled it in, like a tide, then let it flow out.

People began to trip beside him—it wasn't elegant or flashy, but it worked, and honestly, it was a little amusing to see so many people trip over their feet, some in more extravagant ways than others.

He could have sworn he saw someone just keel over unceremoniously into the pavement. Someone else was waving their hands out frantically as they tried to maintain their balance, before ultimately failing, and face-planting onto the ground.

It was nice to be the only one _not_ making a fool of themselves for once. He didn't make _everyone_ trip, but it was a good enough amount for him to be able to catch up and not be left in the dirt. He felt lighter on his feet as he ran by them, easily evading the bodies as they hit the floor.

In the back of his mind, he couldn't stop the phrase ' _let the bodies hit the floor'_ from coming to mind. He shook his head at his own thoughts. Now wasn't the time to be thinking of such ridiculous things.

He was trying to devise a plan on how to take them down with his quirk, sans One For All, because he couldn't rely on it right now. He didn't know how it worked, or if it would even activate yet.

So far, the only thing he could think of was to make them malfunction… he just didn't know if he would be able to do that with his quirk. That was a very fine tuned attack. He could only expel his bad luck as of now. He couldn't even control what kind of bad luck it was, just that it was an inconvenience for anyone who encountered it.

It seemed as though his bad luck was working against him again, as he couldn't seem to find a robot for the life of him. Everywhere he searched, he found nothing. He saw people battling robots—defeating them before he could even think of helping. There was no chance for him to even try and earn points.

At this rate, he would end up with zero points—all his hard work, it would be for naught. His own quirk would destroy his shot before he even had a chance… No…

 _The glass is half full._

There was still time, he just needed to find a robot, that was all. He could—he would—do this. He would pass.

He entered a clearing and saw three people, and four, no longer functioning, robots. It seemed as though no one else was having the same trouble as him in finding the enemy robots to attack.

He heard an announcer say they had four minutes left, leaving him to panic over the fact that he had _zero_ points.

Just then, another robot, a three pointer, entered the clearing. This was his chance, he knew it, but there were other people here. He couldn't afford to let them take away his shot.

He had to stop them from attacking. He _had_ to. One of the kids—that same one who told him off twice, started to run; it appeared as though he had engines in his legs.

Izuku couldn't let him get to the robot though. This one was his.

He focused, trying to pinpoint his quirk on the kid. He took a deep breath, and expelled the intangible nature of his quirk. He could feel some form of energy leaving him—he had never tried to pinpoint his quirk before. He had speculated over it when he had been trying to analyze his quirk, but never had he put it into focus.

He gazed at the kid, wondering if it would work. He could almost see it, his bad luck chasing the kid as he ran, but figured that it was just his eyes tricking him. Then, Izuku noticed the kids engine legs started to fume. Just as he was about to run up and decimate the robot, his legs flared, and he over shot his kick. Izuku couldn't believe it, he had been point blank, and he still missed—his quirk must have worked.

He was getting tired, mentally, never before had he exerted his quirk this much before on purpose. However, he was determined to power through this. He wasn't the only one tired, and besides, he _needed_ to get this robot. He had to prove that he could do this, that he was worthy of being a hero.

It happened quicker than before, he could feel the power leaving him, as though it were a wave crashing through the surf. It felt… strange, but he decided not to dwell on it right now. Instead, he focused on the manifestation of his quirk, trying to make it strong enough for it to go against the robot.

The robot took a step forward; a girl that had been in the clearing ran up to attack it. Izuku tried to focus his quirk with more urgency.

Just as the girl was about to attack—her arm had turned into a spear of some sort—the robot stopped. Smoke and steam rose from within the metal beast. Its eyes blinked rapidly, flashing red and white sporadically. The robot fell to the floor, having malfunctioned from the inside.

Izuku smirked, then let out a breath. He felt good right now, full of adrenaline. The feeling didn't last long as he realized that had been one robot… and he only had about two minutes left until the exam ended.

He wasted no time staying in the area, rushing past the girl, who still had an astonished expression on her face, and the other kid, the one with engines in his leg. The one other kid that had been in the clearing had run away sometime after the guy with engines for legs had missed his attack.

Speaking of, he didn't see that guy anywhere, he must have run off to find another robot to attack while Izuku had been attacking. It didn't matter, he surmised, all that he cared about was finding more robots, and gaining more points.

Though, he thought full of chagrin, he didn't have much time left. Clearing his head, he ran through the streets of the arena.

He turned a corner and saw more people, and less robots. He was about to keep running when a monstrously large robot broke through the buildings, and loomed over them.

 _It's the zero pointer. There's no point attacking it, just run._

Izuku turned heel, but his eyes caught sight of a girl, on the ground unmoving. It was that same girl from earlier, the one who had been kind to him. She was stuck; some debris had struck her, and she couldn't move.

He needed to get away from the zero pointer, there wasn't enough time to delay, but then… he couldn't leave her. Izuku froze; he couldn't leave her. She was trapped, maybe injured, and even if his instincts told him to run, he couldn't leave her.

He couldn't take out that big of a robot with his quirk though… could he? Or… well, there _was_ another option—he did have _another_ quirk in his arsenal.

 _You don't know how to use that though… or if it even works._

 _I don't really have any other choice though…_

 _It's too dangerous, why risk it?_

Determination burned in his eyes, fire flowing through his steadfast stance, and his mind set firm on his decision **.** _Because there's someone who needs help, is there any other reason I need?_

 _The glass is half full, I have to trust All Might's power—my power—besides… my safety isn't at question here…_

He glanced quickly at the girl, she was still struggling to move, while everyone else ran away. His decision was made.

He focused, this time on One For All, on the manifestation of power. He needed to get up high, if he wanted to land a decent punch on it. Given that he wasn't sure how much control he would have over this quirk, he needed to hit it head on, point blank. That meant he needed to get up close to it, and up on its level.

Well, it was now or never, he thought.

He let the energy rush through him, electricity running rivulets throughout him. He could feel the fire in his veins, a burning sensation that bubbled and cracked to life. Golden-red tendrils spread across his legs as he prepared to jump.

When his feet left the ground, it was like an explosion, fireworks going up his legs as he soared through the air. Adrenaline kept him from feeling the pain that _had_ to be going through his legs right now—they felt a little too numb for there to be nothing wrong. He didn't have time to worry, though, as he fired up the quirk once more, this time in his right arm.

He bared his arm, ready to give his all in his attack—he knew that with this attack he was throwing away any chance he had passing this exam, but saving that person was more important. "Well, Mr. Robot, say ' _hello'_ to my little friend," he smirked as his fist made contact with the metal beast.

The initial impact hadn't been as exciting as he thought it would be—nothing like All Might's attacks. However, after a moment of pause, the impact reverberated throughout the robot's body, causing it to internally combust and implode on itself.

Then he was falling.

Oh… he did not think this through. His arm hurt really, _really_ badly… He glanced at it to find it broken—bruised and lacerated—and useless.

 _Of course, I get a cool, actually useful quirk, but it just happens to break me when I use it… Fitting, really, if I think about it. No. Glass half full. At least the quirk worked, and I saved that girl right? That's all that matters…_

Izuku tried not to panic as he neared the ground. He really did try, but as the ground approached it was becoming increasingly difficult. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for impact.

A sharp pain spread through his face.

That was not… what he expected. Hesitantly, he opened his eyes to see the ground… a good foot in front of him still. He hadn't made contact yet; he was held, suspended in the air.

He heard panting, and turned his gaze to see that girl—the same one he had met at the entrance of the school—the same one he had just saved, panting with a relieved expression on her face, before she put her hands together, and he fell, this time actually landing on the ground.

"T-thanks…" he managed to breathe out, gasping out in pain as his injuries came back to him. The girl wasn't paying attention to him though, instead, she was puking off to the side. He wondered if she really was okay.

He realized with painful—in both his body and mind—clarity that he wasn't going to be able to get any more points in this exam.

He had screwed it up. This had been his chance, and he messed it up.

He heard the announcer say the exam was over, and he thought his life may as well be over as well.

 _Think positive dammit. The glass is half full—you saved that girl, don't have a pity party just because you probably failed the exam to the one school you wanted to go to…_

He wasn't doing a great job cheering himself up, but he, in part, blamed that on his aching body. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, he really fucking hurt.

It crossed his mind that it was very idiotic of him to use a quirk he'd barely had for two hours in the heat of battle. One For All coupled with his bad luck quirk could only spell disaster, namely, bad luck unto himself.

With that thought in mind, he promptly passed out.

* * *

The following week was nothing short of overtly mundane and inane for Izuku. After he had passed out at the exam, the school nurse, Recovery Girl, had healed him. It had left him exhausted, but well enough to go home that evening.

He had been under strict instructions to not over exert himself, but it wasn't as though he had plans to use his quirk and break his bones more. No… if anything he was regretting even using it in the first place—it had really only caused him more trouble than good.

Over the course of the week he was in autopilot. He did his daily routine, but everything felt moot.

Shichi had even taken notice as she was extra chatty to make sure he never forgot about her presence. He didn't—it was rather hard to when she would rub up against his leg every other minute and yowl until he petted her or gave her a treat. It was a wonder she was still so thin, given how many treats he gave her.

He enjoyed the company though, his morning runs—which he didn't count as too exertive, and thus, he still did them—were awfully quiet when she wasn't present. Beside that though, everything else kind of blended together until it was suddenly nine at night, and he was still working as if it was only five.

He knew the letter from Yuuei, telling him whether he passed or not—he was sorely leaning towards the _not_ side—was due in a week. He couldn't help but hope for, and dread, its arrival everyday.

It was Saturday, and Izuku had slept in until ten—he cursed when he woke up, finding out it was already so late in the morning. Even if it was Saturday, he liked to go for his morning runs early in the morning.

Still, since he didn't have anything else to do today, he took his time getting ready—which was probably the only reason he didn't get super frustrated. He couldn't find his shirt, then he slammed into his desk, which was then followed by him tripping over a stray pair of pants that were lying around and ending up on the floor.

He sighed… well, at least he was fully awake now.

After a bit of a struggle, he managed to get dressed and had a quick, light breakfast before heading out for his usual run.

As he left his building, after running into several people and spilling someone's coffee, he was immediately attacked by the small force that was Shichi. He was knocked off balance by the sheer force of her hurdling herself at him. For a small cat, she sure packed a punch. Shichi mrowed at him, her voice sounding on the border of worried and annoyed—it was more annoyed than worried though.

"I guess you missed me this morning…" he quipped as she rubbed up against his shoulder, meowing the entire time.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said as he got up, dusting himself off and preparing to start his not-so-morning jog, "Sorry I was late, Shichi. I overslept."

Shichi just meowed in reply, though it sounded more like an exasperated sigh. Izuku had never felt more judged—at least not by a cat like this.

He just shook his head, and started on his jog, Shichi running in tandem with him. All was going well, for once Izuku wasn't running into trash cans or poles—he had a really bad habit of doing that, or well, at least really bad luck. Shichi easily kept up with him, which was impressive considering she only had three legs and was usually as unlucky as him in her attempts to run.

For a black cat, which was meant to be a symbol of luck, she was _really_ unlucky. Izuku thought it had to do with the fact that she was around him so much, but he never dwelled on it.

His luck, of course, ran out when he turned a corner and ran into Bakugo. Shichi immediately went on guard, she wasn't a big fan of Bakugo… at all. He didn't blame her.

"Watch where you're going nerd!" Bakugo sounded about as enthusiastic as Izuku felt to see him.

"Oh, Bakugo," he gritted out as he regained his footing, "Sorry," he mumbled as he took a step forward, determined to just leave Bakugo alone and have as little interaction with him as possible. He wasn't afraid of Bakugo, he _wouldn't_ be afraid of him anymore. He wasn't the same kid who was shunned by everyone and taunted by his peers—he had a reason to fight now, to goal that he believed in. He was going to be a hero, and that meant he couldn't afford to let petty disputes hurt him any longer.

Bakugo, however, had different plans as he grabbed Izuku's shoulder as he tried to pass him.

"What the hell do you think you're playing at, taking Yuuei's entrance exam?" his voice was threatening, a low growl. "You _can't_ be a hero."

Izuku stopped; by his side, Shichi hissed, a low growl settling deep within her chest. He knew his quirk wasn't suited to help people… he knew that, but he had made it work anyway. He _had_ done something good during the exam, regardless of the fact that he wouldn't get any points for it… He had saved that girl, sure he hadn't actually used the _his_ own quirk… but it still counted.

He gritted his teeth. "You can't stop me," he bit out.

Bakugo scoffed, "You actually think Yuuei will let someone like _you_ into their school?" His laughter was bitter, "You're even more delusional than I thought."

Turning to glare at him, Izuku scoffed himself, "That may be so, but what makes you think they would want _you?_ " He let his gaze bore into Bakugo, who had startled at his declaration. "I mean, sure, I may be unlucky…" his voice was tauntingly dangerous, "but at least I don't _consciously_ _hurt_ people. If you ask me, that's pretty _unheroic_."

He shrugged his shoulder out of Bakugo's grasp, motioning quickly for Shichi to follow before turning one last time to Bakugo, "You know, Bakugo, you may have a strong quirk, but there's more to being a hero than just strength…" He left it at that, not finishing his thought.

Bakugo didn't say anything, and he didn't follow him. He just remained standing there at the corner, an unbelieving and frustrated expression on his face.

Once Izuku was out of sight he shuddered. He couldn't believe he had just said that… and wasn't killed. He had wanted to say that, and so much more to Bakugo for so long, but he had always been so afraid, afraid of the consequences. Now, though, he was glad he had said it. Bakugo needed to know that he wasn't all that he thought he was.

Shichi pulled him from his musings as she pawed at him, sending a pathetic look at him with her honeydew eyes.

"Are you hungry?" he asked; Shichi only ever gave him the big eyes when she wanted wet food.

She gave a happy meow—Izuku, once again, thought that she was one of the most talkative cats he had ever met.

They turned back, and headed home.

Shichi rarely ever came home with him, she usually went back to her own house, but sometimes she wandered home with him, and because of this, he started to buy cans of wet food for her. She really liked wet food.

He only tripped up the stairs thrice on his way to his apartment, something that he considered a win.

When he entered his home, he called out, "Mom, I'm home, and Shichi followed me again." He took his shoes off and headed to the kitchen. "I'm just gonna give her some wet food, okay?"

His mom never had a problem with Shichi, she actually loved the cat, and Shichi was always extra affectionate towards her.

"Oh, Izuku?" he heard his mom call from some other room, as he grabbed a can of the wet food for Shichi, and put some in a bowl for her.

His mom came into the kitchen, trembling as she held up an envelope, "W-while you were gone, t-the mail came." She looked as nervous as he felt in that moment.

This was it. He paled, and snatched the envelope, staring at it intently.

"I… al-alright, I'll be in my room then…" he robotically left the kitchen and went to his room.

Once he was there, he continued to stare at the envelope, too petrified to open it. In this envelope held his future.

Eventually, he did tear at the envelope. A device fell from the confines of the envelope, which, given a few seconds displayed a watched it with trepidation; All Might popped onto the screen.

Izuku watched in wonder, and fear, as All Might explained that he was going to be working at Yuuei.

"You did well on the written test, though… your score on the practical was less than desirable…"

He knew it was a pitiful attempt, but still he had thought that maybe… He balled his fists in his lap. _It was stupid to have hoped…_

"However, immediately following the exam, this young lady came to us directly and vouched for you!"The screen cut off to show the same girl he had saved by defeating the zero pointer. She looked worried as she spoke with the examiners.

"Excuse me. Hi," she started out nervously, "sorry to bother you, but I was just wondering… you know that boy, he had curly hair and freckles… actually he was kind of plain looking," she started to ramble out.

 _Plain looking? Well I guess that's not an insult…_

"Would it be possible to share some of my points with him? He got injured… _saving me_ from that robot, and it caused him to lose out on some points... " she looked around nervously before gaining control of herself, "Please, at least give him the points he missed out on because of me! That boy, he saved my life!"

Izuku couldn't believe what he was hearing. He didn't even know this person, and yet, they were trying to help him.

"I'm sorry miss, you can't share points, but don't worry." the voice of Present Mic said reassuringly.

All Might cut back in, "For you see, Young Midoriya, there was more to the exam than just smashing robots."

That made sense, if Izuku thought about it. There wouldn't be enough robots for everyone to get a sufficient score, there simply _had_ to be more for them to go off of.

"Midoriya Izuku," All Might's voice boomed, "with three attack points and sixty-seven rescue points, you pass!"

Izuku stopped, he… he actually passed. Sixty-seven rescue points… but all he did was take out that one zero pointer. How did that add up? Could he have gotten a few rescue points for that one three pointer? There _were_ other people there… so he might have been able to gain a few points from that, but still… a composite score of seventy left him in fourth place.

Fourth place—it was crazy that he had managed that. Even if he was incredibly happy with his placement, he couldn't help but doubt his deserving of it. This would make him a target, no doubt, being so high up in the ranks…

He shook his head, it didn't matter where he ranked. He had passed, and that's all that mattered.

He was so happy, he didn't even realize that the tears had started to form. He was going to Yuuei. He was going to be a hero. Wiping his eyes, he got up to go tell his mom the news.

* * *

Izuku made his way down to the beach where he had agreed to meet All Might. He was excited as he walked the last block to the beach; Shichi had already gone home, and the night felt lonely without her presence, but Izuku was too elated to let that get him down.

He was going to Yuuei, he had been accepted. He had proved that he _was_ enough. He wondered, fleetingly, if Bakugo had been accepted, but decided it didn't matter; he didn't care.

As he approached the beach, he saw the form of All Might—in his 'deflated' form—waiting for him.

He ran up to greet him. Just as he was about to stop, his feet caught on something—or maybe it was just his quirk at play—and he tripped, landing face first into the sand.

He brushed it off, or rather, tried to, "So, uhh, you wanted to talk about something?"

Offering a hand for him, All Might helped him up, "Congratulations on passing, kid." His congratulations would have been a lot more effective if he hadn't started spitting up blood half way through, but Izuku was still beyond elated to have the praise of his hero.

"Thanks, I was really worried that I screwed everything up… with my quirk and all," he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Why would you think your quirk screwed everything up?" All Might asked, he sounded genuinely confused.

"Well, you know," Izuku flustered, gesturing wildly. "Bad luck and well… anything don't really go together," he shrugged his shoulders helplessly, "and it wouldn't be the first time that my bad luck has caused me to fail something…" He drifted off, recalling various times where the weirdest happenstances had caused him to fail an assignment.

All Might gave him a sympathetic smile, "Well I can assure you, Young Midoriya, that you passed on your own merits, with no help from luck, nor myself." He said it with such vigor, such confidence that Izuku could only nod his head in agreement.

"I guess." Izuku hiked up his shoulders and shrugged. "But still… I know I just got One for All, but I can't control it at all…" He looked up at All Might, something like desperation in his eyes, "I _broke_ my bones using it. I get an amazing power like yours… and I can't even use it—"

"I'm going to stop you right there," All Might said, finality sitting like a stone in his voice. "Of course you can't control it," he stated as if it was the most obvious thing, "You had it for less than a day when you used it. You can't give someone that kind of power and expect them to know how to control it immediately."

Izuku gazed at him expectantly. It made sense, if he thought about it—he had practically had this quirk given to him, and then not even three hours later, he had been in a situation where he had been forced to use it at full capacity when he didn't even know how to do that. Of course there were going to be repercussions. He just hadn't thought _breaking_ his bones was going to be one of them.

Sighing, "You're right," he relented. There was no point to continue arguing over something as trivial as that. "So anyway," he changed topics, shifting his position in the sand, "you got a job teaching at Yuuei…"

There was an awkward air between them now, "I did…" he offered simply, and Izuku kicked the dirt. "The staff already knows of my predicament, though they do not know of our connection…"

"And you'd like to keep it that way?" Izuku guessed. He shouldn't be surprised. If word were to get out that All Might's quirk could be transferred, or that a young soon to be Yuuei student now had it, well… he could only imagine.

All Might nodded his head, "Yes, that would be ideal."

"I suppose that means that even my mom can't know?" he asked. He hated lying to his mom, but if he had to... he would.

Again, he was given a sympathetic look from All Might, "Yes, that would be for the best."

Izuku heaved a sigh, "I guess…" He gazed out past All Might, at the sea, and watched as it methodically pushed and pulled the tide. "If I can't tell anyone about it, I'll just… lie about it, say it's just a strength enhancing quirk, a mutation, or something."

All Might, for some reason or another, found it necessary to turn back into his hero form, and gave him a thumbs up. Maybe it was for the effect, or maybe he just liked being in that form, but either way, some random person who happened to be on the beach at the time noticed them, and shouted out, "Is that All Might?!"

Spitting out blood, All Might sputtered, "This was a mistake! Come young Midoriya, we must leave!" He started to race down the beach, not bothering to wait for him. Izuku ran after him. "You just had to change into that form didn't you?" the sarcasm was thick in his tone.

All Might turned away, shamefaced, "I don't know what came over me…"

Izuku just shook his head, he figured it didn't really matter. Maybe his quirk had taken effect and compelled All Might to do something completely idiotic, or maybe All Might, in the heat of the moment, had forgotten the dangers of changing his form like that and did it anyway.

Then a thought struck Izuku, there was no reason for him to be running with All Might. Sure, they had been spotted together, but really, he could just go home, he didn't need to escape fans like All Might did. "Wait, why am I running away with you?"

All Might didn't give him an answer, he just kept running away. Izuku shook his head and stopped, turned tail and started running the opposite direction, "See ya later, All Might." He grinned, satisfied with the days events, as he headed home.

* * *

AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you thought! :DD

Until next time,

Vera~


	4. Eraserhead

AN: this has been done for like a week now, but both my beta and I have been really busy this past week so it took a little longer to get out. But it is done, and it is here. :DD I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

" _Oh, I don't know much of anything."_

* * *

Today was the day. Today was his first day of highschool, his first day in the heroics class. He was nervous, a little more than nervous actually. He couldn't stop trembling as he attempted to tie his tie for the fifth time. It really shouldn't be this difficult… and yet, the tie just refused to work with him

He knew how to tie a tie, dammit… so, why was it being so difficult? "You know what," he gave up on his endeavor, "I give up. No one will care anyway," he reasoned.

He walked to his door and opened it, leaving the room before immediately going back in to grab his backpack. He left his room once again, only to return moments later because he forgot his house keys… he left again, and repeated the process, this time for his phone.

Finally, he had grabbed everything and was heading for the door to leave. His mom stopped him though and asked him if he had everything, which he was positive he did since he had gone back into his room three times to grab things he forgot. He figured if he forgot anything now then he was just meant to _not_ have it.

He went to put his shoes on when his mom stopped him one last time, "Izuku," she was beaming with pride, "I am _so proud_ of you." She let the words hang in the air for a moment before bringing him into a hug.

He smiled graciously at that—he knew his mom worried about him and it felt nice to know he hadn't screwed this up.

 _Yet,_ his mind supplied. No, he wasn't going to think like that. He had earned his spot here and he was going to prove it. _The glass was half full._

"Have a good first day of school, honey. Love you." his mom said, a smile on her face.

He nodded, a bright smile adorning his own, "I will. Love you too, mom." With that, he opened the door and left. He made it to the stairs before he recalled something… sighing he turned heel and strode back up to the door. _This was ridiculous_ , he thought as he opened the door.

"Back so soon? What'd you forget?" he could hear the smile in his mom's tone.

He bit back his frustartions as he replied, "My I.D…. for school. It's in my room." He knew he was prone to forgetting things, but this was getting absurd. It was the fourth time he was going back to his room for something. He rolled his eyes as he spotted the I.D. card on his desk—of course it was tauntingly out in the open.

Quickly, he grabbed it and headed out to leave… again. At this rate he was going to miss the train, which he could absolutely _not_ afford to do. Yuuei was farther away than his middle school had been, he didn't know the route well enough to chance missing the train.

He said goodbye to his mom once again and left, closing the door a little harsher than necessary. He flinched at the sound, maybe he was a little peeved at the moment, but he needed to scale it back—he hadn't thought he closed the door that aggressively.

As he made his way down the stairs, managing to not trip, he thought about his new school. He wondered if they would be like his old classmates, once they knew his quirk.

Though… he thought, now he had _two_ quirks… did he really need to tell them his other quirk? Everyone had bad luck every once in a while, would anyone even notice if their class had a _little_ more bad luck than normal? Probably not, but the thought still disconcerted him. He didn't want to lie to his classmates… he just, he couldn't deal with it if yet another class shunned him for his quirk. This was his new start—this was his shot. He didn't want it all to go away because of his cursed quirk.

So lost in thought he didn't even notice there was a man on his cellphone until he ran into him. They both went down.

Izuku was quicker at pulling himself together than the man was and so he helped him up—or he tried to at least.

"I don't want your help, you damned brat." the man swatted at his oppered hand. "You've done this many time before," Izuku flinched at that, because he had, in fact, run into this man on many occasions.

It wasn't his fault that this man stood by the stairs everyday, reading the newspaper, drinking coffee, or talking on the cell phone… it was just his fault that he managed to trip, fall or run into him every other day…

"It's like you're cursed or something." The man finished, getting up—without Izuku's help—and walking away, his gait oozing annoyance.

Ouch. That… that hurt. He was used to kids calling him a curse, because of his quirk… and some adults were wary of his presence… but, he'd never had an adult spit in his face that he was cursed. He wasn't cursed, it was just his quirk… well, maybe he was cursed then. Cursed to have an unlucky quirk that would only ever cause him misfortune.

Before he could delve any deeper into self deprecating thoughts something rubbed against his leg. He looked down to see Shichi, purring and slinking herself in an infinite loop around his legs. Seeing Shichi here made him forget about the somewhat awful morning he's had.

"Awfully affectionate today, aren't we?" he noted as she preened. "Shichi, I appreciate the affection—I really do, but," he glanced at his phone, checking the time, "I really have to go."

Shichi stopped rubbing against his leg and regarded him with her immaculate golden eyes. She gave an inquisitive mrow.

Izuku just shook his head and started running in the direction of the train station. Unsurprisingly so, Shichi started running after him.

* * *

Izuku paced, waiting for the train to arrive—it was due any minute now. He had made it to the train station with time to spare, which caught him a little off guard. He wasn't used to being early for anything, unless of course, he wanted to be late.

Shichi was by his side, sitting regally as they waited for the train to arrive. He had, rather unsuccessfully, tried to shoo her away as she wouldn't be able to go on the train with him. She didn't seem to care as she just sat right next to him, tail flicking to and fro.

It was only a few minutes later when the train arrived and he tried to board it. Shichi followed him.

"Shichi," he looked down at her, "no, go home." He turned and took a step forward; Shichi followed him.

He turned to her and she meowed, "Shichi," he pointed towards the exit of the train station (come to think of it, he wasn't entirely sure how Shichi snuck into the station in the first place), "go home. I'm sure your owners are worried about you, you've been gone a lot lately."

Shichi regarded him with unbelieving eyes and mrowed again.

"No, you're not coming on the train with me."

Shichi remained where she was, tail twirling with defiance.

"Shichi," he sighed, "I can't take you on the train with me, it's against the rules."

Still, Shichi didn't budge.

Izuku huffed in annoyance, leaning down to her level, "Shichi… I know you want to follow me, but you can't. They don't allow animals on the train." he pointed to the exit, "You have to go home."

* * *

Izuku let out a long sigh as he stood on the train. He couldn't believe he had just snuck a cat on the train with him. He could feel Shichi writhing around in his backpack and shook his head solemnly. This was a mistake, with his luck, he was going to be caught.

 _He had snuck a cat on the train with him._

There were so many ways this could go wrong… and yet, everything was going smoothly. He wanted to keep it that way. He tried to keep his quirk in check, which came a little easier than he expected. Maybe it was because of his excitement, or maybe he was just getting better at control.

He was starting to think that he may even arrive to class early when the train lurched to a stop. He was thrown forward a little, not expecting the sudden stop.

He heard the intercom announce that there were some technical difficulties and his heart sank—leave it to his quirk to ruin a everything.

From within his backpack, Shichi grumbled. He whispered back to her as discreetly as possible, "You don't get to be snide. You're the one who just _had_ to come with me."

There was soft mew in reply; Izuku took it as Shichi begrudgingly agreeing with him. Izuku smiled faintly at Shichi's relenting.

Someone tapped on his shoulder, causing him to jolt before he turned to see a man, "You go to Yuuei, kid?" he asked gruffly.

"Uh…" Izuku startled, "yeah…" he was a little perturbed by the man, if only because he wasn't sure why he was talking to him or how he knew he was a student at Yuuei.

"Your uniform," the man supplied easily, "it's the same one my kid wears-he's a third year though." there was a hint of pride in his voice.

Nervously, izuku nodded his head, "is that so…?"

The man nodded, "Yes…" he then regarded izuku with a disbelieving stare, "what happened to your tie?"

Izuku looked down at the crumpled mess that was his tie, "I umm…" he gave a nonchalant shrug, "ties just don't get along with me."

"I see, well then…" the train started to lurch forward and they began moving again, "well, I do hope your first day goes well."

Dumbly, Izuku nodded. _That was… odd_ , he thought. He was a little miffed that the man commented on his tie tying abilities though, because as far as he was concerned, it didn't matter if he could tie a tie. It wasn't like it was a big deal.

He didn't let himself dwell on it any longer though, waiting for them to reach his destination. He took out his phone and checked the newsfeed, hoping to pass the time and ward off any potential conversationalist with his clear show of indifference.

* * *

Somehow, Izuku didn't end up being late. In fact, he arrived at Yuuei with a few minutes to spare. He let Shichi out of his backpack…. Only then realizing the predicament he was in.

He couldn't bring Shichi into the school with him… but he couldn't leave her here either. She didn't know this area, and she also was missing a leg… even if she had grown accustomed to living with only three legs, she was still at a disadvantage.

This was a conundrum… "Shichi…" he began, giving her a lost look, "you can't follow me in… you'll have to wait here."

Shichi ever so gracefully replied by sitting down, ignoring him completely, and then began to bathe herself.

"Alrighty then…" Izuku huffed out, "I'll make sure to find you after class okay."

Shichi meowed offhandedly and Izuku wasn't sure, but he thought she was snickering at him.

He shook his head as he turned to enter the building, fear and anticipation taking hold of him.

He was really here, at Yuuei—someone like him had actually made it into the hero class. He had proved himself capable at the exams, but it wasn't enough, that was just one exam. If he wanted to be a true pro, he needed more than to pass some test, he needed to prove, everyday that he was cut out for the job.

As he walked through the halls, looking for his class (class 1-A), he wondered who would be in his class. He was kind of hoping that girl from the exam would be there. She had been nice, and he wanted to get to know her more, maybe even be friends with her.

It took some time to find the classroom as he didn't know exactly where he was going. He had gone into the wrong room a few times, chuckling nervously as he exited them, tripping on more than one occasions. At one point, he ended up in one of the storage room in the basement—he had no idea how that happened—but eventually, he did find the right classroom with just barely a few minutes to spare. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

He didn't know what he was expecting, but he should have guessed Bakugo would be there, yelling at… that same guy from the entrance exam, the one who had called him out. _Yay…_ he thought unenthusiastically.

"Of all the classes in all the schools in all the world, he just had to be in mine…" Izuku mumbled, hoping no one would hear him.

"Hahh? Deku," Bakugo growled, anger sparking up in his voice, "what are you doing here?"

Izuku was about to answer, when the other guy cut him off, his tone curious, but stale "Is that-were you… did you just twist an iconic quote from a classic movie to fit circumstances?"

Izuku stopped, and stared at him. All he could do was nod. He couldn't believe someone actually got the reference—he had said this quote many a times… but no one had ever understood the reference, which saddened him because it was a classic quote from an iconic movie from ages ago. Then again, it was a movie from the west—western movies weren't as popular here; but then, this guy had recognized it. Maybe… maybe he had misjudged this guy. Izuku knew he didn't always give off the best first impression, so, perhaps he shouldn't be quite so hasty in his internal assessment of this guy.

He mentally shook those thoughts from his head as he replied, taking a chance by referencing this movie once again, "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"My name isn't Louis, It's Iida Tenya," Izuku wilted a little bit, maybe he should have just stuck with the one reference, but then Iida continued, "but I can appreciate the reference. And also, I would like to apologize for my previous actions."

Now Izuku was confused, he furrowed his brow, "Umm… okay?" Was he referring to when he falsely accused him of trying to undermine that girl…

Iida continued, his voice and posture portraying nothing but seriousness, "I misjudged you, before the exam, but it seems as though you understood the true meaning of the exam, something, I myself, was blind to."

"I did?" Izuku did not know what he was talking about. True nature of the exam?

Bakugo seemed to grow restless at their conversation and interrupted before Iida could explain further, "Will you two nerds shut the hell up! It's bad enough I have to deal with Deku," he sent a heated glare at Izuku, "I don't want to have to deal with another shitty nerd!"

Iida turned to Bakugo, and using a wild hand gesture, he berated Bakugou for his behavior—it was something Izuku had never seen before. Someone was holding Bakugo accountable for his actions… that didn't happen. At least, Izuku had never seen anyone ever tell Bakugo he was wrong.

His thoughts were interrupted by someone tapping his shoulder—he jumped at the unexpected touch..

He turned to see the vibrant smile of the girl who had been kind to him at the exam, "Oh good, it _is_ you!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.

His eyes went wide at her declaration. She seemed so enthused to see him—he wasn't used to that.

"I-I… umm," he stuttered.

She just smiled and nodded to herself—Izuku found it a little weird—before turning and responding, "I'm glad you got in too. I would have felt terrible if you didn't make it into the hero course."

A sudden voice, deadpan and flat, spoke up from behind them, "This is the department of heroics. If you're just here to chat, please do it elsewhere."

They both looked down to see a man, with tremendous bags under his eyes, lying on the floor in a yellow sleeping bag. Everyone in the room quieted whatever conversations they were in to look at the man. He did look rather… odd.

As the class settled down, the man got up and out of the sleeping bag, and walked to the center of the classroom. Izuku and the girl, whom he still didn't know the name of, turned and watched him, not daring to move.

"Alright everyone," the man started dully, posture slacked and eyes dull—he looked dead on his feet if Izuku was being honest. "I'm Aizawa Shouta, your homeroom teacher—"

He was interrupted by the scuffling coming from his sleeping bag. Almost lazily a cat dragged itself out of the sleeping bag, yawning contently.

"Is… is that a cat, sensei?" The girl beside Izuku said, pointing as the cat stretched its three legs.

Izuku glowered at the cat—leave it to Shichi to find a way into the school. He could have sworn Shichi gave him a cheeky grin as she lazily went to Aizawa, their sensei.

Aizawa glared at all of them, "Yes, I found her outside the building. I think I'm going to keep her. She's very affectionate for a stray."

"That's because she's not a stray," Izuku stated, crossing his arms and shaking his head at the cat.

"You know this cat?" There was judgement in his question, but Izuku was more concerned with Shichi's antics to notice.

He nodded, "Shichi lives a few blocks from me, but she's kinda… attached to me, you could say," he explained.

Shichi, loving all this attention, mrowed and hobbled up to Izuku, where she rubbed against his leg and purred. Izuku smiled sheepishly.

Aizawa stared at him, or maybe it was a glare—Izuku couldn't tell from his blank expression, "I see," he turned to the rest of the class, "Well, now that we've cleared up the mystery of the cat… Shichi." There was a drawl in his voice, as if speaking took more energy than he had. "All of you," he focused his gaze on everyone in the room, "put on your gym uniforms and meet me outside."

With that, Aizawa left the room. Shichi meowed in a manner that Izuku knew to be sassy and directed at him before she strutted out after the teacher. Izuku just shook his head as he went with the rest of the class to the changing rooms to put their uniform on.

* * *

Izuku nervously tugged at his gym uniform as he made his way outside with the rest of the class. Of course, his uniform didn't fit quite right; it wasn't like it was too big or too small, it more or less just felt… off, like the dimensions of it weren't correct. It was a small issue really, and it wasn't noticeable, just a small inconvenience, something he could easily live with.

Before anyone could ask anything about why they were out here, and not at the opening ceremony for first years, their sensei, Aizawa, started to speak. "I'll cut right to it, this is a quirk assessment test." He turned to meet everyone's gaze, and Shichi, in her true cat fashion, sat right next to his feet, ears poised and tail flicking in a judgmental manner. "You're in the hero course, and so that means it's my job to teach you how to achieve that goal. We don't have time for nonsense, so right now I will determine if you have what it takes to continue on this path."

There was a collective intake of breath as Aizawa said this.

"In middle school," Aizawa continued, walking towards the baseball pitch, "you all had standard tests… in them you weren't allowed to use your quirks, but now—" he stopped abruptly, a wicked gleam in his eyes "—Bakugo, how far could you throw a softball pitch in middle school?"

There was scoff from Bakugo. "Sixty seven meters," he replied dryly.

"Hmm," Aizawa took out a soft ball and tossed it to Bakugo, who caught it on reflex, "show me how far you can throw it now." He gestured to the the pitch he was standing on.

With a disgruntled 'hmph', Bakugo stalked forward until he was standing where Aizawa had instructed.

"Oh and… use your quirk this time." Aizawa mentioned in an off handed nature.

Bakugo smirked before throwing the ball, his explosive side coming full force when he initiated his quirk. The ball went flying through the air, a burning, flame riddenstreak that left a trail of smoke as it soared though the sky and landed far beyond their line of vision.

Aizawa held up his phone to display a number written on it, "See this, sixty seven meters… that _was_ what you said you could do, but when you use your quirk… seven hundred and five point two meters," he paused for a moment, heightening the suspense, "In order to become a great hero, you need to know what you're capable of first; know your limits so that you can work on breaking them. I've set up multiple physical tests that you should know from middle school, but this time, I'm allowing you to use your quirks and show me the best you've got."

Beside him, Shichi purred, rubbing up against his leg. It kind of ruined the moment, Izuku thought, but it was definitely a Shichi thing to do; she was a very needy cat.

There were whispers from his classmates, talking about how they would finally be able to use their quirks. "This sounds like fun," he heard one person say in a cheery voice.

It was not a great thing to say, it seemed, as Aizawa turned on them, "Fun? This isn't some fun little activity that you can half ass. I'm training you to be future heroes, not babysitting you so you can have a 'grand ole' time'. If you're not going to take this seriously, then leave. This isn't a game, and if you're going to treat it like one then you shouldn't be here." His voice was cold and harsh as he spat out, "You should consider yourselves _lucky_ to be here, but if you're all going to treat this like a game, then I guess I'll up the ante: the person who performs worst in these physical assessments will be expelled, effective immediately."

Everyone stopped laughing and joking around, but Izuku was gritting his teeth. He didn't care about the being expelled part—well he did care about that a lot—but that wasn't what upset him so much. He had worked so hard to _prove_ he could do this, to show the world he was capable of being… something. Then Aizawa, his teacher, on the first day tells him everything he's worked so hard to achieve is just… _luck._

It didn't sit right with him. If there was one thing Izuku knew, it was that he _was not_ lucky. In fact, he fought against luck to be standing here right now. Luck had been against him, and he had denied it, again and again. He wasn't about to let anyone take that away from him.

He clenched his fists and bit his lip. "I'm not here because of luck," he bit it out bitterly, not registering that he was even voicing his thoughts aloud.

Everyone stilled when he said that. It had been shocking to hear that one of them was going to be expelled, but no one had dared speak out against their teacher, not when his tone had been so stern, his gaze so serious.

"What was that you said… Midoriya?" He shivered at the ice in his words, before steeling his convictions. He could just as easily back down on this, apologize and move on… but something stopped him. Sure he could do that, and it may be the easier and smarter option, but he _couldn't_ do it. Luck was _not_ the reason he was standing where he was today.

His quirk was _bad luck_ , so in a sense, yes luck had played a role… but he wasn't by any means _lucky_ to be here. He was here because he fought for it. There were things he couldn't control—things that people may call _luck_ —and he knew that. Everyone dealt with these unforeseen circumstances, but Izuku couldn't stand the thought that all his hard work and training was going to be blown off as something as mundane as _luck._

He held his conviction as he spoke, "I said I'm not here because I'm lucky." He glared at Aizawa who, in turn, sent a cold stare his way.

"Oh? So why are you here then?" It was a challenge.

Anger burned at Izuku's throat, wanting to escape, but he swallowed it, "I'm here because I worked hard to be here."

"And what about the other people… the ones who didn't get in? Did they not work just as hard as you? Were they not just as deserving as you to be here?"

Izuku stopped and thought about it. He wasn't as pompous to say that there weren't other people who took that exam who weren't just as deserving as him, but the difference between him and them was that he passed. It was crood, and a bit harsh, but the fact remained—he had passed that exam, and they hadn't.

"I'm not saying that. There were definitely people who took that exam who were worthy of being heros… but that's not the only thing there is to being a hero. You can't just want to be one… that's not enough…" He looked down, thinking back to that day on the roof, when he had asked All Might if he could be a hero. He swallowed, he was starting to understand why All Might had held his position... but he still felt it was wrong. _Anyone_ could be a hero, but you had to work at it.

"Well…" Aizawa seemed intrigued, yet slightly annoyed by his monologue.

Izuku looked at him, determination set in his green eyes, "If you want to be a hero you have to work at it, and you have to push through every inconvenience. You can't let yourself stop because something goes wrong. I took that exam just as everyone else did… I was faced with my own inconveniences there, but you know why I passed?"

Izuku waited a second to let the tension build. "I passed," he continued, voice strong and steady, "because when I was faced with an obstacle I didn't run away. I ran straight at it. I did what I _needed_ to do, not what I wanted to do."

No one said a word, but there was a collective intake of breath. Izuku let out a breath he hadn't even known he was holding.

Aizawa was grinning like a madman at him. "I see… well, if you're so confident in your abilities, then show me." He gestured to the baseball pitch and offered Izuku another softball. Izuku wondered how many softballs Aizawa had, and where he was getting them.

Izuku stepped up to the field and took the ball.

"Show me what you can do…"

Izuku got ready to throw the ball. He couldn't use his inborn quirk here… it wouldn't help him in the least. He would have to use One For All. He didn't have a choice. Sure, he would break his arm, but there wasn't anything else he could do. If he didn't use a quirk it would undermine everything he had just said—it would be him running away and giving up.

He wouldn't allow it.

He let the golden fire burn through his veins, feeling One For All's power flowing through him he positioned himself to throw the ball. As he was throwing the ball, he felt all the power pour out of him, extending into his throw. It was as if a huge tension on his bones had suddenly been released, snapping his body back into place with harrowing force.

The ball left his hand and didn't go nearly as far as he had intended it to, in fact, as the ball sliced through the air, a strong gust of wind blew in the opposite direction and stopped the ball, carrying it backwards a good few meters before it landed a mere twenty meters out.

He stared at the ball, frozen in shock; this wasn't right. He had fired up One For All… so why… why didn't it work?

Slowly, he turned to see Aizawa staring at him intensely with his eyes wide and his hair sticking up as if gravity had stopped working. His eyes glowed a vicious red, and his scarf, once wrapped around his neck loosely, now flew out in all directions as if it were sentient. All former exhaustion had drained from his sensei's face, leaving a haggard, stone cold expression.

"How was it that you managed to pass the exams again? By overcoming adversity? By going for it when others faltered?" His voice stung like a wasp, leaving a lasting impression upon him. "All I've seen is an uncanny amount of strength and… a whole lot of _luck._ "

Aizawa was throwing back everything he had just said in his face; Izuku gritted his teeth. He wasn't _lucky_. He refused to belittle his hard work by calling it _luck_ , not when all his life, everything he's done, every accomplishment he's ever had, has been attributed to his quirk. _Everytime_ something happened to him, without fail, his classmates or teacher or adults told him that he didn't _actually_ earn it, that it only happened because his bad luck spread to everyone else.

Izuku was tired of _luck_ being the determining factor for him.

It wasn't. His quirk may manifest luck, but that didn't mean that it held any sway over his achievements and downfalls.

Despite his internal thoughts swirling, Izuku remained quiet as Aizawa persisted, "I saw what happened to your arm in those exams. You spout on about how you don't stop when things get bad, but if you incapacitate yourself every time you use your quirk, you'll be useless. What happens when you're fighting an actual villain and you hurt yourself? What then? Because of your recklessness you would have endangered yourself and everyone else in the area. You can't be a hero with a quirk like that."

Izuku froze at those words—that wasn't… no. He refused. He had already decided that he was going to be a hero. He wasn't going to stop because yet another adult told him he couldn't.

Slowly, but without any hesitation, Izuku steadied his gaze on Aizawa, "It's not a matter of 'if I _can_ become a hero', because it doesn't matter if you think I can be one, all that matters is that I _will_ become one. I've decided that, and your jibes at me are nothing new," Izuku wasn't sure where all this confidence came from, but he was tired of being a coward, this was a chance for him to be something else, to be something better. "I've been told all my life what I can't be. Your insults are nothing special. Tell me what I can't be, and I'll show you that I can."

There was a joking playfulness laced within Aizawa's bitter tone, a challenge laiden deep within his words, "You haven't even done any of the other assessments yet. Do you think you can do them all with a broken hand or were all your pretty words just that: pretty words? Show me, Midoriya, what can you do?"

 _What can you do?_ That phrase has been thrown at him for years, ever since he first showed signs of his quirk. It had really hurt to hear it then, when he hadn't a clue how to control his quirk. Then…. He had screwed up, he had really screwed up, and he thought he'd never be able to be a hero with his quirk. Now though, now he had people who believed in him. He had a reason to prove everyone wrong.

He was given another softball to throw. He knew he couldn't use One For All recklessly like he had before… but he couldn't control it yet either. Bad luck wouldn't really help him here…. Unless he… he could try that.

He knew Aizawa was waiting to see if he had anything up his sleeve, or if he was truly all bark and no bite. If he didn't make this—if this didn't work—he had no doubt that he would be the one that Aizawa expelled.

He couldn't control One For All yet, but he could direct it—he could contain it so that his entire arm didn't break.

He concentrated on his quirks; trying to reign in One For All and halt his bad luck. He focused on pinpointing his quirk. He could feel the energy rush through him, racing to his hand before he threw the ball. He waited until the ball was about to leave his hand before activating One For All.

The ball streaked through the air; Izuku's finger exploded with agony. This hurt a lot more than breaking his arm did. He sucked in a breath and turned to see Aizawa staring at him in shock.

He heard a collective gasp from the rest of the class and noticed that they weren't looking at him, rather at the sky. He turned to see a bird—a big raptor—had grabbed the ball he threw in mid-air and started to fly away—away from them.

He couldn't help it, he chuckled, then gasped as another pulse of pain rang through him.

Aizawa quipped up, voice flat, "It seems as though we won't know how far you threw the ball… as a… bird took it."

Izuku chuckled slightly, trying to stave off the pain a little, "Well… it's not like it's _my fault_ a bird took the ball… I guess you could say it's a just a stroke of… _bad luck.."_ He gave Aizawa a wily smile, though pain twisted it a little—his finger really did hurt.

Aizawa sighed exasperatedly at his jibe, but became more concerned when Izuku continued to wince, "Are you sure you're okay Midoriya?" His voice conveyed a hint of suspicion within it.

Izuku snapped his eyes open—this pain was nothing. It hurt, yes, but he could power through it. "This is nothing, I can still perform… besides," he wiped away the tears that had forced themselves from his eyes, "there's no crying in baseball."

"Oho," Aizawa smirked, before gesturing towards the rest of the class, "you may have shown that you can throw a ball, but let's see where you fair in the rest of the assessments," Izuku nodded his head and started to head back, "and one more thing Midoriya," Izuku turned a questioning gaze on him, "this isn't a baseball… it was a softball"

With an irritated sigh, Izuku rolled his eyes. "Why do I even bother?" he muttered darkly as he walked back to the rest of the group.

* * *

All through the rest of the assessments, Bakugo kept glaring at him, his eyes so intense Izuku could have sworn he saw actual smoke coming from them at one point. He knew Bakugo was mad at him for the ball throw—when he had finally gotten the distance his ball had gone seven hundred and fifty meters, breaking Bakugou's record by a solid forty two point eight meters.

Bakugo had complained to Aizawa about it, stating that he had cheated, because the bird had taken the ball and brought it farther along than it should have gone, but Aizawa just brushed him off, stating that there wasn't anything he could do.

In all honesty, Izuku knew there was plenty that Aizawa _could_ do, it just appeared as though he didn't want to do anything about it; the thought made Izuku snicker.

Izuku worried though, that he hadn't done enough to evade expulsion. There really wasn't anything he could use his quirks for unless he wanted to sabotage his classmates with enough bad luck to counter his own, but there was no way he was going to do that. He was trying to be a hero and sabotaging his classmates would undermine his beliefs. He still felt bad about his stunt at the entrance exams. He hadn't really meant to trip everybody… it had just been a heat of the moment kind of thing, and he regretted it though there wasn't anything he could do about it now.

When the assessments had finished, Aizawa told them he would show them their scores. He waited a few minutes, calculating the final scores, before displaying them all on the board.

Izuku slowly looked at the scoreboard, cringing when he saw where his name was.

He had placed last.

Dead last.

He balled his hands into a fist—his right hand less so as the finger was still broken.

"Oh yeah," Aizawa added nonchalantly, as if it were an afterthought, "that whole expulsion thing… it was a logical ruse." He laughed unironically.

No one laughed with him.

Izuku let out a breath of relief. He wasn't going to be expelled. He could still continue on his journey to become a hero. He _was_ a little miffed at Aizawa for lying to them, but his relief over not being expelled outweighed his strife over the lie.

After the shock had worn off, Aizawa told them to go back to the classroom. He stopped Izuku though as he was walking and told him to go to the nurse to heal his broken finger. He simply nodded and headed towards the building. It was only after he had made it into the building that he realized he had no idea where the nurses office was.

* * *

The end of the day had arrived, and Izuku just felt exhausted. He knew, in reality that it was because of the nurse's quirk, but he was mentally tired as well.

He sighed as he made his way out of the school, briefly wondering where Shichi had taken off to. He hadn't seen her since the assessment. He shook his head at the thought—Shichi would be fine. He immediately regretted the action as in his tired state it just made him dizzy.

So out of it, he didn't notice the person walking up behind him until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Instinctively, he jumped and turned to see it was Iida.

"Sorry if I scared you, I just wanted to ask if your finger had healed," he inquired diligently.

Izuku stuttered out a response, "O-oh, yeah, Recovery Girl… you know the nurse, she healed me all up." He wasn't used to classmates caring about his overall well being. He had to say, it was nice.

"Ah, that's good," he walked up next to Izuku, walking in stride with him, "I must say though, that whole stunt Aizawa pulled, it really got me."

"Yeah, I was really nervous that I was gonna get expelled… especially with how I kinda ranted at him…" Izuku's nervous nature returned full force, causing him to wilt in on himself slightly.

Iida shook his head, "Quite the contrary, I think."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"While, yes, you were a bit directive, I think it just proved how driven you were, and how much you cared about being here." There was a note in his voice… something almost like jealousy. "And then you went and proved that you could adapt to situations quickly. There's no way he would have expelled you after that. You have proved, once again, that you have the qualities of a hero."

"Iida—"

He was cut off by the same girl from earlier, the one he really needed to get the name of. "Hey guys, are you going to the train station too?"

There was a soft mew that followed her sentence, and Izuku turned to see her holding Shichi, who was, surprisingly, letting her do so. Shichi loved attention, but hated to be held.

"You're that infinity girl," Iida exclaimed, shifting his glasses.

The girl blushed slightly, "My name is actually Uraraka Ochako… you're…. Iida Tenya, Right?" Iida nodded, and she continued looking at Izuku, "And you're... Midoriya… Deku?"

In her arms, he heard Shichi snicker, at least he took it as her snickering.

His face went red with embarrassment, "That's not actually my name… it's Izuku, not Deku. Bakugo just likes to call me that as a sort of insult…"

Her face went a little solemn at the mention of that, but quickly went back to her peppy, cheery mood, "Really? Cause I think Deku has a nice ring to it. Something like, 'I'll never give up' and after that speech you gave, I think that really fits."

Oh… this was… new. Deku had always been an insult, meant to tell him how worthless he was… but now someone was telling him it meant something different.

The last thing Izuku wanted was for things to be the same, to be the same deku as he had been in middle school… but now, maybe it could be different. Maybe he could still be deku, but not _deku._ He could change the meaning of it. It could mean something else now.

He smiled at the thought, "Yeah, I suppose it does." He nodded, assuring himself, "Yeah, you can call me Deku."

Shichi yawned, stretching as much as she could in Uraraka's hold.

"Oh, yeah, this was your cat right?" she asked.

Izuku nodded, "Well, yeah, kinda… it's weird. She's not mine, but she follows me around a lot."

"Interesting name, Shichi…" Iida remarked.

"I like it. It sounds cute!" Uraraka huffed. Shichi mrowed in agreement.

"Yes, well, for a black cat she is very… _unlucky_. Hence why I gave her a lucky name." Izuku sighed, taking a step forward, not noticing the divet in the sidewalk and face planting into the ground.

"And you seem to be a bit… unlucky as well," Iida noted.

Uraraka laughed, "He did the same thing at the entrance exam," she said as she went to help him up, "You seem to fall a lot."

Izuku couldn't help but smile, "Yes…" he trailed off. Part of him wanted to tell them about his quirk, his first one, but another part, a darker part, told him to keep it a secret. If they knew they would leave him, call him cursed… just as everyone else did.

"Sometimes it feels that way." They didn't need to know his actual quirk… not yet at least. It wasn't important, and besides, Izuku thought as Uraraka helped him up, he liked this feeling—having friends who he could have a casual conversation with. It was nice.

"Say, Midoriya," Iida started as they made their way to the train station, "earlier, on the pitch, was that a reference to a movie I heard?"

Izuku beamed, finally someone who understood all his references. "Yes!"

"A League of Their Own?"

"Yes! Finally, someone who knows of them. I know they're, like, ancient, but I used to watch those old movies all the time. They were basically my childhood, as well as heroes and such…" Izuku babbled on.

"Yes, I agree. I, too, have watched many of those old classics from the west. Not many people know of them these days, but every once in a while, I'll catch a reference or two."

Uraraka looked between the two of them, "Classic movies? I've never heard of 'A League of Their Own'..."

Both Iida and Izuku stopped and turned to her, "Well, you just _have_ to see them now!"

Uraraka smiled at the prospect, and they continued their conversation all the way to the train station. Izuku was smiling and laughing the entire, time. Friends weren't something he had ever had before, but now… things were different.

It was a good different, a different he could get used to.

* * *

AN: I hope you enjoyed that chapter. :DD It was really fun to write out and I can't wait to finish the next chapter :DD

Until next time,

Vera~


	5. Psycho

AN: This took forever and I'm sorry. I got all swamped with life and such and my beta, Rzen, was also busy with life so it took awhile, but it is done now. :DDD I hope y'all enjoy :D

* * *

"We all go a little mad sometimes."

* * *

Izuku had survived his first day as Yuuei. Though it had gone a little differently than he had hoped, it hadn't been bad by any means; his mom had been happy to hear his recount of the day, elated over the fact that he had managed to make some friends.

It had been a pretty exciting endeavor, and for the first time in a long time, Izuku was excited to go back the next day. Though this time, he did make sure that Shichi didn't follow him into the train station—Izuku knew he was bound to get caught if he kept sneaking her on the train with him. Shichi hadn't liked it, and some part of Izuku knew she would try and follow him anyway, but for now, the fresh can of tuna he had left for her was working.

Izuku was excited. Today would be his first day of actual classes, and he couldn't wait to see what the hero course had to offer.

His morning classes were all regular classes, such as English with Present Mic. It wasn't bad, a bit mundane, but the novelty of being in the presence of so many pro heroes still hadn't worn off yet.

* * *

While the teachers had been impressive, the classes themselves had been anything but. While he was fine with nothing out of the ordinary happening, it had made the day kind of dull. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened—something Izuku wasn't exactly used to.

The day had been going well. Nothing terrible had happened, so, of course, when lunch rolled around, that was all bound to change.

He had met up with Iida and Uraraka for lunch, happy to have friends to eat with for once. He was used to eating alone, away from everyone else. Things were different now though.

They had been in the middle of a conversation about their English class, and how enthusiastic Present Mic had been during it, when they were disturbed. Someone came up behind them, he was wearing the hero course uniform, but he wasn't from their class, so Izuku deduced that he must've been from class 1-B.

He didn't wait for an opening to announce his presence, "So, you're class 1-A?" It wasn't asked as a question, instead stated in an unimpressed tone. He was smiling, but there was hatred in his eyes.

Izuku's smile faltered. Those were the same eyes that people looked at him with all their lives as if he were cursed. An old fear drove a frigid spike through him at the memory.

Beside him, Uraraka stilled, and Iida glared sternly at the newcomer.

He didn't wait for a response before continuing, "You know, you're not all that impressive. Just because you're in class 1-A doesn't make you better than us in class 1-B." he maniacally laughed, danger flitting in his cold, grey orbs.

Izuku just gave him a pointed, albeit a little confused, look, "No one here thinks we're better than you," he gestured to the three of them, and they nodded in succession.

There was a disgruntled 'hmph'. "Don't get too big of a head, class 1-A. Just because you have some flashy quirk doesn't mean you can look down on us." He gave them a pompous look.

Izuku just looked at Iida and Uraraka, all three of them sharing confused looks.

"Umm," Izuku could already tell he was going to regret saying this, but… "You know that, technically, we're looking up at you right now… like…" he pointed at them, sitting at the table, then to him, standing, looking down on them in both senses, "you're standing, and we're sitting so… Besides, we would never look down on you anyway, we're all trying to become heroes..." he trailed off into an incoherent mumble, afraid he had said the wrong thing.

Thankfully, Iida backed him up, "Midoriya is right, there is no reason for us to look down on you if you aim to be a hero, just like us."

"Yeah," Uraraka chimed in, "there's no reason we can't all be heroes together." She pumped her fist into the air enthusiastically.

The other student was not expecting such a reaction if his flustering was anything to go by. He pointedly glared at them, anger shining in his eyes before turning heel and strutting away, all the while grumbling about how he would show them not to mess with class 1-B.

Once he had gone, Izuku looked at Uraraka and Iida and shrugged, "That was… weird." Uraraka and Iida both nodded in agreeance, and they continued their lunch.

* * *

Izuku sat at his desk, his foot tapping the floor anxiously. This was it. It was time for the heroics class, taught by All Might.

He couldn't wait. He wondered what they were going to talk about today. It was only the first day, surely it wouldn't be anything too strenuous like a battle simulation or anything.

He was going through his analysis notes, just browsing over them and whatnot. He had found that going through his notebook was something he did whenever he was nervous… it gave him something to focus on and as a fortunate outcome, it kept his terrible luck from spreading out to others. The class was just waiting for All might to show up after all—he seemed to be running a bit late—so he didn't find any harm in going through his notes.

He could hear a few murmurs from his classmates, all of them seemed eager to be working under the tutelage of the number one hero. He couldn't blame them. All Might was something else. Even after knowing him for months, Izuku was still enamored by his heroic nature.

When he was a child, he didn't have any friends, so he had turned to other sources to combat his loneliness. One way was through All Might and his heroic behavior—specifically, his debut video—which really struck a chord with him. The other just happened to be movies from when the film industry was still new; they were practically antique in this day and age, but Izuku still found them enthralling. They had been unique to him, something he had never seen before, and there had been something about their plot—stories from before quirks had emerged—that he could identify with.

He was brought out of his reverie when the door slammed open, and All Might himself came rushing in, wearing one of his silver age suits.

"I am here!" All Might sounded as enthusiastic as ever, "Welcome to the hero fundamentals class! Here you will learn the basics to what it takes to be a hero." He laughed heartily before continuing, "Let's jump right into it with a battle!"

That got mixed reviews from the class. While some people, such as Bakugo and this one kid with red hair, shouted out their excitement, though Bakugo's shoutout was more of him sending off small explosions within his palms while the redhead down right shouted something about being manly. Others were quieter and more reserved in their responses. No one was downright against the idea, even if a few thought it to be rather odd, himself included.

All Might wasn't done yet it seemed as he continued to talk, brash as ever, "And…" he paused, most likely for dramatic effect, "to go with the first battle, we have your hero costumes!"

Whatever reservations any of his classmates may have had were washed away at the prospect of getting to wear their hero suits.

Izuku himself was quite excited to see about his own hero costume. He had gone over a few design elements with his mom, and he was pleased with the results. Izuku knew it would need work, there were a lot of things he would need to adjust as he got accustomed to his new power, but he had the framework down.

All Might left them then, telling them to meet him at the Ground Beta after they had gotten changed into their suits.

* * *

He was lagging behind the rest of them. It had taken him longer to get into his costume than it really should have, but that shouldn't have surprised him. Something was bound to go wrong, he knew that, but at the very least, he was glad that it hadn't been a hindrance to anyone besides himself.

As he ran to catch up to everyone else, he adjusted the helmet on his head—he'd have to get the size adjusted as it didn't fit quite right. Otherwise, though, nothing else about his suit speculations had been off, which was of a surprise in and of itself. He didn't doubt the support class, he knew they would do an excellent job, however, things always went wrong around him, without fail.

Well… they did forget about his shoes, but that was an easy mistake to fix. He had specifically asked that his shoes not have laces and instead have buckles because that would be harder to trip over, but they must have forgotten that part. He tried not to dwell on it—he had been able to remedy the situation easy enough by tying them in his signature quintuple knot.

Izuku looked around once he had caught up to the rest of the group. Everyone's costumes looked interesting enough, he hoped they were as practical as they were stylish.

He saw Uraraka walking up to him. "Deku! I love your costume. It looks efficient." She regarded him with a smile.

"Yeah?" he asked sheepishly. "I'm happy with it for the most part, though," he took the helmet off, "the helmet is a little too big for me so I may have to get that readjusted before using it in an actual battle."

She nodded her head in agreement, "Yeah, I get that. I kinda wish mine wasn't as puffy and," she looked down at her boots, "I don't know why they gave me heels here… they weren't in my sketch." she shrugged her shoulders.

"All right," their attention was pulled to All Might, "let's see what you're made of with a trial of battle!"

Beside Izuku, Iida, whose suit closely resembled another hero that Izuku knew of—Ingenium—spoke up, "Sensei. I have a question regarding the battleground we'll be using… is it, by any chance the same mock city we used in the entrance exams?"

All Might didn't falter in his response, "Ah, excellent question. However, contrary to popular belief, most criminal acts are committed indoors, and so we will have an indoor battle!"

All Might went on to explain their roles in this battle trial.

They would separate into two teams, villains and heroes and then be partnered up. All of these would be chosen at random—Izuku wilted at that.

It would be left up to chance, up to luck. If it was left to chance, that could only mean one thing for Izuku. Either he would be paired against Bakugo, or partnered up with him. Both options were unpleasant, but he knew, just knew, that he would end up with one of them.

Izuku only half listened as All Might went on to explain the details, as most of his classmates had asked various questions about the exercise. All Izuku could think about was his probability of being paired up with people.

One good thing about always having bad luck was that he could count on it. Therefore, he knew he wouldn't be partnered up with Iida, nor with Uraraka, because he knew them. That would make working with them more natural, and so, if past experience with his quirk was anything to go by, he knew he wouldn't be paired with either of them… though he might be pitted against them.

He waited anxiously as All Might drew their names.

All the names were drawn, and he looked to see he was paired with…

Todoroki.

He'd been paired with Todoroki.

Who was Todoroki?

His gaze fell on piercing grey and blood red, ice-encased, eyes.

Oh. Todoroki looked… pleasant.

Izuku cursed his luck, though, at this point, he knew this was going to happen. He didn't know this Todoroki person very well, but if their cold gaze was anything to go by, then being partnered with them may end up making things a little more complicated.

Izuku walked up to him, hoping he would be willing to at least work with him on this. He stopped when All Might announced the first battle.

It was him and Todoroki…. Versus…

He sighed as he saw who his opponent would be. He knew it was going to happen, but that didn't mean he liked it. Iida and Bakugo… his friend and his enemy… were now both his opponents.

He shook his head—he had to come up with a plan.

Walking up to Todoroki, he gave a friendly greeting, "Todoroki, it looks like you're my partner."

Without missing a beat, Todoroki responded, "I don't need your help."

"Hnn," Izuku shook his head. Of course, he was paired up with someone who didn't want to work with him. It didn't even matter that they had never spoken to each other before and had no reason to be this cold towards one another.

"What was that noise you just made," he sounded displeased, yet curious.

Izuku quipped back, "Uh… I… it was to voice my displeasure at your seemingly unwarranted refusal of my help, even though we've never met each other before?" He stated it as a question, not sure how to respond to that. "I just can't believe you won't even try and strategize with me, is all. We're partners, and you don't have to like me, but you should at least work with me instead of brushing me off."

Todoroki didn't even flinch as he responded, "I don't need your help."

Well then…

Izuku spent the next five minutes they were given to prepare for the battle going through some strategies. He knew that Todoroki's quirk centered on fire and ice, but not much else. It was a fantastic quirk to have, Izuku thought bitterly, he just wished that Todoroki was more willing to help him plan countermeasures for the exercise.

He knew Bakugo would go after him. Bakugo hated him, wanted to prove how much better he was than 'useless Deku'. It was easy to assume that he would be the prime target for Bakugo.

Time was up soon enough, and both he and Todoroki stood at the threshold of the arena. Izuku still had no idea what Todoroki planned to do as he refused to listen to anything he had to say, but he hoped that they could at least work together well enough to win.

He hated Bakugo, he felt nothing but antipathy towards him, and Izuku wanted—needed—prove he could do this. He wasn't going to back down. This was his fight now, his rival, and he was going to win. He didn't even cast a glance at Todoroki as they headed towards the building.

This time, Izuku wasn't going to hold back.

* * *

Katsuki seethed, "Where does Deku get off, having two quirks?" He was beyond livid. Deku's only quirk was his poor luck… but now he had fucking super strength?

What the fuck… this wasn't right. Deku shouldn't have two quirks… he wasn't that lucky—he couldn't be with his quirk.

Unless… unless that fucker was lying this whole time, saying his quirk was terrible luck when it wasn't. He shook his head of the thought. He knew Deku's quirk was misfortune. He had seen it. Once, a long time ago; he had seen Deku's quirk, the physical manifestation of it… it had been…

He glared, anger and, though he wouldn't admit it, the tiniest bit of fear flitted through his eyes.

Behind him, he could hear that nerd, Iida, talking about some plan. He hated that he had been paired with that damned person. He had gotten along with Deku, which made him lame.

"Bakugo… did you say that Midoriya had two quirks?" Iida asked.

"He didn't tell you?" he scoffed, smiling wickedly, "Doesn't surprise me. He knew if you knew about his actual quirk you'd never be friends with his lame ass."

Iida didn't respond right away, not that Katsuki cared, "Why is that?" His pure curiosity made Katsuki laugh.

"Because," he turned, his eyes exploding with fire, "he's cursed. Everyone he's ever met has fallen victim to it… Hell, sometimes even strangers get pulled in by his fucking curse of a quirk."

Before Iida could remark, they were interrupted by ice spreading out throughout the room. It looked as though the battle had started. Behind him, Iida started the engines in his legs, burning the ice and getting in a battle stance.

Katsuki ignited an explosion, the sound reverberating throughout the building, the heat melting the ice quickly. He turned his attention to the door and started to stalk forward. He let a devilish grin plaster itself on his face. He was going to fucking maim that nerd.

* * *

Izuku watched as Todoroki froze the entire building in awe. It wouldn't keep Bakugo nor Iida down long, he knew that. He tried to tell Todoroki that, but he ignored Izuku for the most part. He hadn't even cared that he froze Izuku's feet to the ground.

Hesitantly, he called out, "Um, Todoroki, you kinda froze me here too."

At that, Todoroki did stop, but the glare he sent froze Izuku more than any ice ever could. His eyes looked so cold… so… lonely. "So?" Izuku just stared at him.

"W-what do you mean 'so'. We're partners, you can't just leave me defenseless like this." He was a bit angry now. He didn't care how forlorn Todoroki had looked, right now he was an ass.

"You'll be fine. I can win this without your help. Besides," he turned away, "I thought you had a super-powered quirk anyway."

He didn't understand this guy. What was he playing at? Izuku sighed in frustration as he tried to move his ice-clad feet to no avail. "You know," he called out, "This won't stop Bakugo for long, and you don't know where the villains hid the weapon."

Todoroki ignored him.

They were both shocked to hear the sound of an explosion come from below them.

Todoroki started to walk forward. "I found them," he declared haughtily.

He let out an exasperated sigh as he was left alone, like a sitting duck, in the hallway. This wasn't going to stop him, he wasn't going to let his perpetual lousy luck ruin his chance. He had managed to get this far with his quirk, there had to be something he could do.

He went over what he knew, and the other possibilities that he could think of. One thing he was almost sure of was that Bakugo would come looking for him. His mere existence seemed to piss Bakugo off.

There was a soft sound, footsteps, coming towards him. He stopped his thoughts and listened. The steps were louder now, and forceful. They were coming from a little further down the hallway… possibly to his right.

He waited in anticipation, feet still frozen to the floor.

Someone—Bakugo—turned the corner. He got into a fighting stance, ready to defend himself when Bakugo got to him. _I need to hold him off, that's all I need to do. I may be frozen here due to Todoroki's quirk… but… I refuse to give in._

He mentally prepared himself for a fight, and when Bakugo's heated red eyes met his cold green ones, a storm was unleashed.

Bakugo smirked as he ran forward, while Izuku let his quirk, his natural one, flow. There was one good thing about Todoroki freezing the entire floor; ice was slippery and if you weren't careful… you were bound to slip.

Izuku smirked as he saw Bakugo lose his footing and fall on the ice. It was almost comical, and he couldn't help but let out a small laugh. It wasn't every day that Izuku got to see Bakugo look like a fool.

As Bakugo struggled to get up, he sent a glare in Izuku's direction. "You fucking nerd, you think you can be a hero. Don't make me fucking laugh. You're just Deku," he spat out, gaining his footing, and using an explosion to give him a boost.

The ice cracked. It moved up to Izuku, breaking the ice around his feet. He shifted his feet slightly, not enough to be noticed, but enough for him to know how much force was needed to break free overall.

Bakugo had readied his right hand for a strike—Bakugo always led with his right arm.

Izuku wasn't about to back down now. He was poised, ready to take the blow head on if he had too. He was going to prove that he could do this. He waited until Bakugo's fist was about to make contact before he broke his feet free from the ice, maneuvered himself out of Bakugo's way and grabbed his arm, shifting their weight, and throwing him over his shoulder.

He stood proudly, not a trace of any doubt in his stance, "I may be Deku to you Bakugo, but…" he waited until Bakugo could turn to look him in the eyes before continuing, "I'm not the same 'Deku' as before. I'm going to be a hero, and you can't stop me. You won't stop me."

"Heh," Bakugo rose from his position on the ground steadily, "If you think I'll let a loser like you show me up, you've got another thing coming. I'm going to pound it into you. You can never be a hero." He lunged forward.

Izuku dodged. Bakugo's hand hit the wall, destroying the exterior and exposing… pipes, which then broke, spraying steam right into his face. With a hiss from the pipes, steam separated the two of them from each other's view. Izuku took that opportunity to get away and recollect himself.

As he turned a corner, he heard Bakugo mock him, "Oi, Deku, don't think you can escape from me that easily. Just because you have a fucking cursed quirk, don't think I'm so weak as to let it stop me from destroying you! Or…" a threatening taunt tinged his tone, "are you going to take the whole building down with you…"

Izuku faltered slightly but shook his head. Bakugo was just trying to get under his skin. It had worked though… and Bakugo probably knew it. That's why he had said it, but Izuku wasn't going to… He wasn't going to listen to anything Bakugo had to say anymore. He wasn't a coward; he was training to be a hero.

He was still running away though…

He stopped and turned, preparing to face Bakugo when he inevitable found him.

Izuku could still hear him, throwing taunts to the wind, "Come on out Deku, show me that new power of yours! It seems to be awfully flashy…" Izuku wasn't going to take the bait. He was done accepting anything Bakugo had to say to him. "How the fuck did you get another quirk, Deku!? We both know it wasn't luck." Bakugo was seething now, Izuku could tell, but he wasn't going to back down.

Izuku wasn't going to let Bakugo's words get to him. Not anymore.

Bakugo turned the corner, and his menacing eyes landed on Izuku's determined green ones. He let out a mirthless laugh, "What? Not going to run and hide like a coward?"

He stood firm, "Not anymore Bakugo. I'm not afraid of you anymore."

"You should be, Deku," he held his hand up, palms facing out and held the position, "You already know how my quirk works… but if those idiots in support did what I asked, then these bracers should be storing all my sweat, and the more sweat I have, the bigger explosion I can produce." He smirked wickedly.

Izuku's features morphed from confidence to unease. If Bakugo was storing up his sweat… then that explosion could… "Don't be an idiot, Bakugo," he tried to maintain a sense of calmness in his demeanor; unfortunately, his voice trembled ever so slightly.

"Heh?" There was a devious gleam in Bakugo's eyes, and for one moment, Izuku questioned his sanity. He looked demented, downright mad in this moment.

"You wouldn't… You'd take down the entire building… not to mention…" He silently added that an explosion of that caliber, if that hit him… he could die, or at the very least be critically injured.

Through his intercom, he could hear All Might telling Bakugo to back down. He thought Bakugo would at least listen to All Might, but his devilish smile only grew more intense. "As long as it's not a direct hit, it won't kill him!" Bakugo shouted, moving his hands and pulling the pin from his bracers.

There was a moment where nothing happened. It was hauntingly quiet, disturbingly still.

It happened so quickly, Izuku wasn't even conscious of jumping out of the line of fire. His body moved on its own, and a good thing too, because a moment later, and he would have been burnt to a crisp. The shockwave from the blast sent him straight into a wall that crumbled upon contact.

It took a moment for Izuku to gather his wits about him, thoroughly shaken from the blast. When he had gained a semblance of himself, he realized with startling clarity… and horror that Bakugo had almost killed him.

Bakugo had tried to kill him.

Whether it was consciously or not, and he thought—hoped—that it had been a miscalculation and not intentional, that attack had been sent straight towards him, and if it had hit him… he would have died.

Izuku tried to get up, the rubble shifting underneath from where he had landed. Out of the smoke and debris, Izuku saw a shadow emerge. His hairs stood on end, and his eyes went wide. His face twisted into a horrified expression as Bakugo emerged from the smoke screen.

Bakugo's fingers twitched at his sides, the smoke and debris hiding most of his face, obscuring it until it was only a shadow. Still, his glaring red eyes burned like coals in the night.

He tried to back away, "Bakugo…" he stuttered out, "w-what-are you crazy?" At that moment, he looked like an absolute madman.

"Why don't you use that goddamn flashy quirk of yours?" His hands closed into a fist, smoke rising from them. Seething hatred slithered through his words, "I'm going to fucking make you use that quirk, even if I have to break you to do it."

Izuku stared at him in disbelief. This was madness.

He had always been terrified of Bakugo. He had said that he wasn't going to be afraid any longer, but looking into those red eyes now, seeing them ringed with an insatiable bloodlust, Izuku couldn't help but let a thrill of fear run through him. He was downright petrified, but… he was also angry.

He was pissed off that Bakugo thought his actions were okay, justified even.

Bakugo wanted to be a hero, just like him. It angered him to see Bakugo treat this as some kind of game. It wasn't a game. This, right now, may be an exercise, but becoming a hero was his dream… it wasn't some goddamn game that you could win. It was a livelihood; he wanted to help people… Bakugo just wanted to win.

He couldn't stand that.

Determination flared through his being as he stood up, "Is this some kind of game to you, Bakugo?"

Bakugo seemed to falter a bit, but regained himself quickly enough. "So, you can still fight. Good, cause I'm gonna beat that quirk outta ya if I have to," he sneered.

Izuku was about to respond when he received a message from Todoroki, "I'm in the basement. I found the villains." His voice was drab, but Izuku was grateful that he had even told him anything at all.

He squared up to Bakugo, "Okay, great, where exactly in the basement?"

The response from Todoroki was curt and a bit cold, "It doesn't matter, it will only take me a minute to subdue the villain and grab the weapon. Just stay out of my way."

"Roger that," he bit out a little cruelly. He knew Todoroki was strong; if he remembered correctly, he did get into Yuuei on recommendations. He didn't want to interfere with him, his job was to subdue Bakugo, and he had formed a plan to do so.

Bakugo came rushing towards him; he took up a stance to combat him.

Right as Bakugo neared him, Izuku had prepared to grab his hand, but before he could, Bakugo let out a small explosion in front of his face. He hadn't been expecting the sudden wave of smoke and ash that filled the air, but it had been enough of a diversion for Bakugo to go behind him and strike him square in the back. He took a shaky step, coughing, the wind knocked out of him from the impact. It caused him to stumble forward a bit, falling.

However, before he could make his acquaintances with the floor, something slammed into his side, hard. He wheezed. There was no time to recover before he was dragged through the air and thrown across the room where he crashed on the ground with an involuntary shudder, his bones rattling from the impact.

 _He's not going to give me any leeway… I can't beat him though. I know that he's too strong for me, but… I can't give up! I'm not running away from him anymore._

Bakugo was walking towards him, his face a shadowed smile lit by an insatiable spark of insanity. There was something feral about Bakugo at that moment, and Izuku could see it, could feel it. It was almost tangible.

"Deku," he growled, "when are you going to use that new quirk of yours?"

He didn't respond.

"Heh? Ignoring me? I'll show you, you fucking nerd. You're not better than me. Just because you somehow got another quirk—which is bullshit—doesn't mean you're better than me! "

That wasn't what he was doing… not at all… "I'm not— I don't think I'm better than you—"

"Of course you're not!" Bakugo sneered, "Remember what you did… with that fucking cursed quirk of yours! There's no way some cursed nerd like you, who did that, could ever be a hero."

For a second, everything froze. Time had come to a standstill. Izuku did remember. Hell, he'd never forget… but that didn't mean he was okay with Bakugo bringing it back up… that was crossing a line, and Bakugo knew it.

Slowly, in a trance, Izuku rose from the ground. All of his senses put themselves on mute—he couldn't find it within himself to show any emotion at that moment. Then, all too suddenly anger and fear lashed out in his features. He felt livid, but he was utterly calm.

The frozen trance he had been in washed away and time continued to move at a reasonable pace.

Bakugo was right—what had happened that day, it _had_ been because of him… because of his quirk. He had ruined the lives of many people that day… but he could still do good. He could still be a hero… right? Izuku wanted to prove Bakugo wrong. He needed to… because he _would_ be a hero. He hadn't meant to… back then… it had been an accident… was there nothing he could do to show how much things had changed since then?

He shook his head violently, dispelling the thought from his head. What's done was done—he couldn't go back in time to change it. All he could do was move forward, learn from it, better himself from it. He intended to prove everyone, even himself, wrong.

Bakugo was coming after him now, his arm ready to blast him once more.

Izuku prepared himself.

He wasn't going to be caught unawares this time. Clandestinely, he snuck a hand behind him, and grabbed the capture tape they had been given—he had put it in one of the pouches on his belt. He wasn't stronger than Bakugo, but he was smart. He knew what Bakugo would do, and he would use that against him.

Once the tape was secured in his hand, he made it look as though he were ready to throw a punch. He even fired up One For All, focusing on controlling the overwhelming power that flowed through his veins.

With two fists raised, poised and ready to strike, they closed in on each other. In a moments notice, Izuku had started shifting his position, releasing his quirk, preparing to trap Bakugo with the capture tape…. When an announcement startled both of them.

"The heroes have successfully taken the weapon from the villains! The heroes win!"

Almost instinctively, he released his quirk, but in his surprise, Izuku tripped and stumbled, his momentum causing him to effectively collide with Bakugo. Since Bakugo had already prepared to attack Izuku, whereas Izuku was going to trap Bakugo, his open palms ended up slamming into Izuku's side and igniting.

The resulting explosion was anything but kind to Izuku's shoulder… and ear. The pain reverberated through his shoulder, clattering his bones and bringing him to his knees. His ear was ringing, a high pitched, incessant noise driving through him.

"What the fuck?" Bakugo shouted, unconcerned with the damage he had done to Izuku.

Through the pain, Izuku bit out, "You were so concerned with taking me down you forgot the actual point of this exercise…" he took a deep breath as another burning wave of pain washed through him, "You forgot about Todoroki. He was able to take down Iida and procure the weapon."

Bakugo just glared at him, "Fucking nerd. I would have destroyed you."

The ringing in his ear had subsided a little by now, the noise more manageable. Taking a steadying breath, he slowly rose to his feet, his arm clutching his shoulder, Izuku spoke, "Of that, I have no doubt, but that wasn't the point of this training." It was cold, deadpanned. Izuku just didn't care right now.

All his anger from before was just… gone. If anything, he was more frustrated with how he had let that anger bubble up and distract him from the exercise. He was disappointed in himself. Bakugo knew just how to get under his skin… and that bothered him a lot. He should be used to Bakugo's pestering, to his incessant need to belittle everything he did… but it still got to him, it still _bothered_ him.

Deep down, he knew why that was: he wanted more than anything for Bakugo to see him as an equal, to look at him and not just see… a curse.

He wanted Bakugo to see him as a person.

He didn't though… all he saw was a walking curse who thought they were more than they were.

It hurt, in both senses of the word, Izuku thought resentfully as he clutched his shoulder, and gasped at the fire that ran through him. Despite Bakugo's insistence that he was, Izuku refused to believe he was a curse.

Slowly, he and Bakugo left the building. Bakugo wasn't looking at him, and for that, Izuku was grateful.

He realized that maybe… maybe it wasn't worth it to try and mend things with Bakugo. Perhaps they couldn't be friends… just bitter rivals, if that. He couldn't change Bakugo's views on the matter though and… part of him was tired of trying.

* * *

Toshinori sat through the first battle in anticipation. The fight between Midoriya and Bakugo had been… interesting. He may have let it get a bit out of hand, but he could sense it, those boys needed to work through something. He didn't know precisely why Bakugo had seemed to target Midoriya, but that was something he could ask later.

He couldn't hear what they were talking about, but the looks in their eyes had been desperate. He couldn't bring himself to stop them.

He regretted that decision the moment he saw them all leave the building, Midoriya was clutching his shoulder, the arm hanging limply at his side, and was adamantly refusing to look at Bakugo. Iida and Todoroki were the only two people to come out of the fray unscathed, seeing as they hadn't been targeted as Midoriya had, and Todoroki had been able to subdue Iida easily after a few minutes of a cat-and-mouse-like chase down in the basement.

Midoriya looked… almost ashamed of himself, but for what, Toshinori hadn't a clue. There wasn't any audio in the battleground, and therefore, he was only able to go off of their actions… which had been very violent. If it wasn't obvious before—which it was—then it was clear now that Midoriya and Bakugo had some bad blood.

Toshinori waited for them all to gather around before giving them his review of the scene. "That was certainly an explosive first round. It was spectacular; however, I think the person who showed the most prowess in this exercise was…. Iida!"

He had thought the choice was rather obvious, but it didn't appear as visible to the students as it did to him. Midoriya still looked shame-faced, something he still wasn't entirely sure as to why. Todoroki looked deadpanned as if he didn't care one way or another, while Bakugo had a murderous aura around him. Iida just looked shocked… and possibly a little confused.

It was Tsuyu who spoke up first, "But I thought the winners were Midoriya and Todoroki."

Before he got a chance to speak, another student—Yaoyorozu—gave an explanation. "It's simple. Out of the four of them, Iida was the one who adapted to their environment and people the most. He changed his dynamic when necessary. Moreover, he acted calmly and took precautions, even if in the end he was no match for Todoroki's quirk."

Toshinori was about to ask if anyone had anything to add when she continued in her explanation.

"After watching the battle, it's clear that both Bakugo and Midoriya were driven by something personal, though Bakugo more so than Midoriya. Todoroki, on the other hand, was detached from the entire thing. He trapped his partner in his ice at the very beginning. He acted as though this was a solo mission, not bothering to use his partner at all. As it stands, Iida was the only one who played by the true spirit of this training." she spoke professionally, as if utterly sure of herself.

Toshinori was a bit surprised at how thorough she had been, but he didn't disagree, "Precisely." He flashed a smile before looking at Midoriya, who was still clutching his shoulder, his posture tense. It looked like it might be dislocated. "Midoriya, why don't you head on over to Recovery Girl's office and see about fixing that shoulder up."

Midoriya looked scandalized at the prospect, "What? But then I'll miss out on seeing everyone else's battle! My arms fine," he said frantically, trying to brush it off, but his wince ruined the effect.

He shook his head, "Young Midoriya, there is no reason for you to stay. You can get a recap of the class's stats after you've healed your injuries."

Midoriya gave him a vaguely betrayed look, but nodded nonetheless, and left to go to the nurse's office. Toshinori figured he could meet up with the boy after class.

Toshinori briefly wondered what had happened during the training exercise. Midoriya had looked shaken to his core afterward, and Bakugo, he seemed downright livid, ready to maim someone—which wasn't too far from what he had done. It didn't sit well with him.

* * *

Izuku rushed out of the nurse's office as soon as he was given the okay to leave. It wasn't so much that he didn't want to be there… but he didn't want to be there. He had nothing against Recovery Girl, in fact, she had been quite pleasant—he thought it may have had to do with the fact that he hadn't come to her with a self-inflicted injury—but class was letting out soon, and he had kind of hoped to meet up with Uraraka and Iida after class.

He had wanted to congratulate Iida on his excellent work during their class today.

He was… disappointed with his performance. He knew that it had been Bakugo who had come looking for him, trying to pick a fight, but he had still been goaded into fighting back. He had let his issues get in the way of his rational thought, and he hadn't even tried to contact Todoroki, pushing the view aside because he thought Todoroki would just ignore him. How callous could he be? That was unacceptable.

He shook his head as he turned a corner… bumping into someone.

"Oh hey, sorry man—Midoriya? Hey, dude, you were amazing out there today! Super manly." he looked up to see a redhead giving him a toothy grin.

He took a small step back, not expecting to be praised. He took a second to assess the group before him. There were four people he vaguely recognized from class. They all looked happy and excited to see him; it wasn't something he was used to and it cause him to fluster a bit, "I really wasn't… I let my personal bias interfere—"

He was cut off by a girl standing behind the redhead. She had vibrant pink skin and a spunky attitude, "Seriously, that was so cool how you took Bakugo down! It fired us all up!"

"It was really amazing how you were able to think quickly, even after Todoroki froze you to the floor. That wasn't very cool of him-kerro." Another person added. She had green hair and a frog-like look to her.

Izuku just stood there shocked. He hadn't expected anyone to comment on his battling abilities at all, let alone praise him for it.

"Oh, I'm Kirishima Eijirou, by the way," the redhead proclaimed, grinning like a fool.

"Oh, oh, and I'm Ashido Mina!" The girl with pink skin enthused.

Another girl, shorter and with green hair, introduced herself as Tsuyu.

The last one in the group didn't say anything, but waved meekly and gave a kind smile.

It was all a bit overwhelming. Izuku wasn't used to this, and so he just awkwardly waved, "Uh… hi, I'm Midoriya Izuku." He sheepishly scratched the back of his neck.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bakugo walk past them.

At that moment, he had decided one thing: he needed to talk to Bakugo. He wasn't sure what, exactly, compelled him, but he needed to talk to him—he didn't want to, but he knew he had to. They had been enemies for so long, for frivolous reasons, but that had to end. Neither of them could continue on this path to become heroes if they couldn't lay down their differences. They didn't need to be friends… but they couldn't continue on this way either.

As graciously and politely as he could, he shimmied his way past his classmates and headed towards the doors where Bakugo had left.

Bakugo had his hands in his pockets, and his posture was slumped, it was a sure sign that he was pissed. Izuku wanted nothing more than to avoid him for the rest of his life… but, he couldn't do that. There was a disconnect between them, they both knew it, and Izuku wasn't sure they would be able to fix it. He wanted—needed—to see if it was even worth trying.

"Hey, Bakugo," he called out, running up to catch up with the blond. As per usual, he tripped about halfway there. He could hear Bakugo scoff at him as he stood up and brushed himself off.

"What do you want, nerd?" Bakugo bit out aggressively.

Izuku gazed at him for a moment, voice not working. He knew what he wanted—for them to get over their childish rivalry—but was that… was that even possible? "I… Bakugo," something cold set in his eyes, "we're not friends."

Bakugo just rolled his eyes, "No shit, as if I'd ever be friends with you."

"No," Izuku didn't back down, "That's not what I meant. I meant…" he sighed, trying to control his breathing before starting again, "I had always wondered why you hated me so much… some part of me knew it wasn't just my quirk… you-you didn't like me even before our quirks manifested. You and me… we're never going to get along, we never have, and I… I-I need to understand that." A little bit of sorrow had set into his features.

Bakugo was still glaring at him, but there was something in his eyes. Hatred or regret, Izuku couldn't tell.

He continued, "Bakugo, we're not friends, but we're not enemies either. I refuse to see it that way, but I… I don't see us as rivals either," though his voice was solid, he slumped his posture a little, letting loose all the tension he had been holding in, "I know you hate me, I know that… and I'm going to stop being delusional about our relationship. We're barely even acquaintances… so, my point is…" He let his comment linger, regaining himself and standing up a bit straighter.

"I'm done playing your games. I'm not the Deku you called me anymore, and I'm not the same as I was back then… I'm not going to be afraid of you anymore."

Bakugo remained silent, his eyes were stirring with something, and he was shaking slightly. When he did speak, it was nothing more than a whisper, "Is that all… Deku? Did you just come here to tell me how much better you are as a person?"

Izuku stopped, shaken by his comment.

"So what," Bakugo continued, "you got this new quirk and all of a sudden you think you're so fucking great. Is that how it is?" His voice rose steadily as he spoke. "Heh? Tell me Deku, why do all of a sudden think you're so great? Where do you get off getting a new quirk? You're not better than me, dammit! You may have beat me today, but-but—"

He was quaking now, and his eyes were rimmed red. Izuku had never seen Bakugo look so… emotional, not since… that time.

"I swear it, Deku, I swear that from here on out, I'm going to be number one!"

Izuku continued to stare at him, wide-eyed. He didn't have words. There was nothing to say. He gulped, trying to digest Bakugo's declaration.

He had always considered Bakugo to be the best—concerning strength—so he was having a little difficulty realizing that Bakgo had, in a perverse way, acknowledged his power. Maybe… maybe they couldn't be friends, that ship had sailed a long time ago, but they could… they could still try and push each other to do better.

Izuku would continue to prove that he belonged here, that he had earned it, and it wasn't because of luck, while Bakugo would take that as a challenge to do better. It was more than likely a bit dysfunctional, but if it meant that Bakugo would finally begin to see him as a person, an equal and not a curse, he would take it.

* * *

AN: I hope y'all enjoyed this latest chapter! :D

Until next time,

Vera~


	6. Rear Window

AN: I know it's been awhile, sorry about that. I didn't mean fo this much time to pass before updating, but life happeneded. Sucks, but there wasn't anything I could do about it. But anyway, I hope you enjoy this lighter, fluffy chpater :DD

* * *

"It's just another run-of-the-mill Wednesday. The calendar's full of 'em."

* * *

Shouta prided himself on being able to keep his composure in almost any situation. He could keep a calm head and think things through rationally.

Yesterday, however, had been trying. He had reviewed the tapes of his students during their battle simulation and he was… not happy with some of the results.

He hadn't expected much, considering these kids had never been able to use their quirks like this before, but one student in particular had wielded their power with a little too much… _malicious intent._

Bakugo was strong, he knew how to use his quirk, of that Shouta could see plainly; however, his resentment towards one of the students, Midoriya, went beyond a friendly rivalry.

He had almost maimed Midoriya during their battle.

Shouta had been livid. Surprisingly though, he had been more angered at All Might's lack of reprimanding towards the boy. The only type of scolding Bakugo had received was a warning during the match—Shouta had a hard time believing the sheer bullheadedness of Toshinori sometimes.

He knew Toshinori wasn't a great teacher, he didn't know how to go about chiding his students. Shouta knew he meant well, and he hadn't purposely neglected to scold Bakugo for his behavior, but it _was_ frustrating nonetheless.

Shouta had ended up having to keep the anger-ridden teen after class to berate him for his behavior.

 _Shouta sighed as he called for Bakugo to stay after class. The rest of the class, sans Midoriya who was still at the nurse's office, had all come back to the classroom after their training and were going through the results. There was a lot to go over, and for the most part, his students did well. That being said, there was still one student who he needed to have a serious conversation with._

 _Shouta watched stoically as Bakugo stalked to the front of the room as everyone else left._

" _What the hell do ya want?" Bakugo had barked out, annoyance prevalent in his tone._

 _Shouta just looked him directly in the eye and crossed his arms in displeasure. "Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't expel you right here, right now?" he deadpanned._

 _Bakugo gaped at him, anger setting in where there had once been an annoyance, "What the hell do you mean?" he had seethed._

 _Not batting an eye, Shouta repeated himself, "I said: give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't expel you." When Bakugo remained silent, he elaborated, "You could have killed Midoriya today. You lashed out at him, for reasons I don't particularly care about, but either way, you didn't even care that your instructor, your teacher, directly told you to cease fire. You went against his direct orders and injured a fellow classmate."_

 _There was a glower in Bakugo's eyes, but he steeled himself before saying anything, "That idiot wasn't gonna die from that attack. I don't see the big deal."_

 _Shouta pinched the bridge of his nose, "And that," he sighed, "is exactly_ why _I should expel you… If you can't even understand that what you did was majorly out of line then what potential do you have to be an actual hero someday?"_

 _At that, Bakugo stopped; his eyes widened a fraction, and he wordlessly gaped at Shouta._

 _He let the pause hang in the air for a little longer, the threat becoming more real as the silence dragged on._

 _Sighing, Shouta shook his head. The fact of the matter was that Bakugo_ did _have potential. His prowess was second to none in the class, except possibly Todoroki (if he ever used his full power), plus he had a drive, a fire buried deep within him that would undoubtedly carry him far. None of that mattered though if he was just going to act all pious about everything._

 _Bakugo was powerful, but he_ needed _to understand that power wasn't the only thing necessary to be a hero._

" _Bakugo, you do have potential; you could be a great hero… but not as you are now." It seemed that Bakugo did have some common sense as he didn't lash back at him this time._

 _Shouta was never one for second chances. It wasn't that he didn't believe in them, because he did, but as a teacher here, he saw it as his duty to weed out any zero potential students immediately. Better to tell it like it was than to let one's hopes grow only to be squashed later on in the real world; however, this was an odd situation for him. Never before had he had such a volatile first-year student whom also showed promise. Typically, the louder they barked, the softer they bit… but not in Bakugo's case. Bakugo had a nasty bark and an equally nasty bite._

 _No, second chances were not something Shouta often gave out._

 _He sent Bakugo a stern glare, "I will give you one more chance. Do_ **not** _take it lightly. You won't get another."_

 _Without so much as a word, Bakugo nodded._

" _Don't think you've gotten away with your behavior either. For the next week, I expect you to stay late for detention. You're dismissed."_

 _Silently, Shouta watched as Bakugo stalked off, a slump in his shoulders and a downward tilt to his head. He knew he should have ordered Bakugo to make amends with Midoriya and apologize, but Shouta knew more than anyone that an apology was only worthwhile if the person meant it. He couldn't force a sincere action from Bakugo; if he did apologize then it spoke for his character, and if not… well, Bakugo had a lot to learn._

* * *

Izuku tapped his foot nervously, anxiously waiting for class to end. All day long he had been a nervous wreck. It had all started this morning.

He had been running a bit late, as per usual. Tripping down the stairs, his backpack had scattered all of his notebooks. There had been more people than usual there that day, and so picking up his stuff had been a struggle. Quite a few of the pages in his notebooks had been torn and muddied by peoples' shoes.

After that, he ran to the train station, only to just miss the train. Shichi, who had followed him, didn't make anything easier. She wasn't supposed to be following him, but then again, when did she ever do what she was supposed to?

So, he had waited for the train patiently—eagerly and a bit annoyed. Because Shichi had had the gall to follow him to the train station and frankly, he didn't trust the cat, which led to him sneaking her on the train.

Izuku had thought it would be fine, that he would be able to get away with sneaking her on the train with him… but then, Shichi just _had_ to start meowing.

Needless to say, he had gotten caught and was reprimanded as well as being kicked off the next stop, which was one stop earlier than he needed so he ended up running at full speed until he was within distance of the school.

He slowed down and tried to breathe. He didn't have time to dawdle, but he needed to catch his breath. From his backpack, Shichi poked her head out, then her paws and pretty soon she was shimmying her way out of his backpack. With a thump, she slinked onto the sidewalk and shook herself, before walking circles between his feet.

Between breaths, he huffed, "I blame you for this."

Either Shichi didn't care, or she didn't understand because for once, she remained quiet.

After he had caught his breath, he continued, walking now, to the school entrance. As he approached the entrance, he saw a few reporters milling about. He wondered what that was about, but didn't dwell on it.

He didn't have to wonder long when one of the reporters caught sight of him and immediately lunged at him.

They had asked simple questions, but Izuku hadn't had the time to answer any of them. That didn't stop the reporters from trying.

He had to practically fight his way through them, well, more like shuffle past them awkwardly with Shichi trying to trip him up with every step. He had managed to get past them and to the front steps of the school—the school was pretty good at keeping unwanted visitors out.

He only had a few more minutes before classes would start and would rather not be late. He turned to Shichi, expecting to see her sitting by his feet. However, that had not been the case.

Somehow, the dumb cat—she was in actuality a smart cat that just _did_ dumb things—had gotten into a street fight with a bird. A big bird, more like a raptor than anything else.

He wasn't entirely sure what he was watching, because what was one to think when a small, strangely three-legged cat put up paws against a bird of prey? It was like something one saw online, not in person… and yet, here Izuku was, standing in front of Yuuei watching a cat do just that.

He didn't have time to react as the bird snatched Shichi. In his surprise, he had been paralyzed. He had been about to chase after the bird when the bell sounded, and Izuku was left to watch the bird fly away, a yowling cat in its clutches.

Despite it being the most obvious reaction, worry had not crossed his mind at that moment, rather sheer dumbfoundedness at what he had just witnessed.

A bird…

Had flown off…

With Shichi.

It was rather tough to believe, but even so, stranger things had happened before.

His lousy luck never ran out of the _creative_ or _extramundane_ ways to mess with his daily life.

It hadn't been until about halfway through his first class that the shock of it had morphed into something more appropriate for the situation at hand. Now, as he was sitting in class, waiting for it to end, he realized that while it might have been a precarious situation, it was still pressing in the fact that Shichi was in danger.

 _Everything will be fine Izuku, the glass is half full. Shichi has gotten herself into numerous dangerous situations, and she's always found a way out. Now is no different._ Izuku tried, albeit poorly, to quell his nerves.

The saddest part of this all, Izuku realized, was that this wasn't even the _weirdest_ thing that had ever happened to him. With his quirk, he had gotten himself into some somewhat dubious situations.

There had been one time when he found a penny on the sidewalk—he had thought it would be _good_ luck—and then he lost it during class., or possibly in the bathroom. It had fallen into some kind of pipe—don't ask him how because he still had no clue how that happened—and gotten stuck in said pipe.

As it turns out, that pipe had been the main water line that ran throughout the school. After a little bit, the pressure had built up as it hadn't been able to go around the small metallic coin smoothly. In a way, it had exploded, flooding the basement. The school had to be evacuated, and they eventually found the source of the explosion—some people had fleetingly thought it had been Bakugo—had been a pretty penny, the same one he was sure he had found on the sidewalk earlier that day.

That had been a sight, in all honesty. Bakugo had spread rumors—though technically it was the truth—that the pipes breaking had been _Izuku's_ fault. That had _not_ been a fun week.

Speaking of Bakugo, Izuku had noticed how recluse he seemed to be today, not even batting an eye in Izuku's direction. It was a peculiar sight, to see Bakugo so tame and dare he say… timid. At least, compared to his usual brashness, this felt so much more… timorous. Bakugo was never this laid back, he was egotistical to a fault, but now… if anything he seemed on edge—still broody and easily angered, but more cautious of his actions.

It felt weird; it was wrong.

Izuku was pulled from his reverie by Aizawa, who was addressing the entire class now.

"I'll be curt, we need a class president."

There was an uproar in the class; becoming the class president not only looked good for building up a resume for future careers, but it was a great chance at leadership. Everyone—well almost everyone—wanted to be the class president.

It wasn't so much that Izuku didn't _want_ to be the class president… but, he knew how his quirk worked well enough to know that putting himself in that position wasn't the best course of action on his part.

"I don't really care how you choose, just so long as you choose by lunch." With that Aizawa slinked into his yellow sleeping bag, leaving the class at the mercy of each other.

* * *

Izuku couldn't believe he had been chosen as class president. He had thought for sure, luck or not, that as long as he voted for somebody who he thought would be a good fit, then he wouldn't have any votes to his name. However, as it turned out, several people thought he would be a great president and voted for him.

So, him and Yaoyorozu—he didn't know much about her, but she seemed nice enough—had ended up being class president and vice president. He shook his head in betrayal, it wasn't as though anyone—besides Bakugo—knew why he was so against becoming class president, but still, he had really hoped someone else would have been elected.

Now, he just hoped things didn't turn out too badly.

* * *

Lunch was the only time Izuku thought he would be able to sneak out and search for his abducted cat—not that he thought it'd do much help, but he couldn't sit by and do nothing.

Shichi may be an oddball, but she was _his_ oddball… kinda. At this point, Izuku was reasonably confident that Shichi spent more time with him than she did with her owners.

Needless to say, he wasn't keen on the fact that she had been taken by a bird, as insane as that was, and he was hoping he could sneak away during lunch to search for her.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to sneak off immediately as Iida came up from behind him—Iida hadn't even been hiding his presence or anything, but Izuku had still jumped when he noticed Iida's appearance, though he brushed it off easy enough, and continued walking towards the cafeteria.

"Oh, hey Iida," Izuku stated rather dully. He felt a little bad, if he were being honest, that he had been chosen as class president instead of Iida, who would be a much better fit for the job.

Iida offered him a small wave, "Hello, Midoriya. Congratulations on being voted as the class president." His smile was strained, but genuine.

It was evident that he had wanted to be class president, and Izuku thought he would be a much better candidate than himself… but that didn't change the fact that Izuku had been chosen and Iida had not.

"Oh, yeah, thanks… I…" he paused for a second, gathering his thoughts, "This is probably weird to say, but…" he stopped walking and turned to face Iida, "I didn't really want to be the class president."

Iida regarded him thoughtfully, "Is it because of your quirk? The other one I mean."

"No… wait, what… what did you say?" Panic rose in Izuku, clawing its way from his stomach up and out of his throat until it had made itself present on his facial features. "I don't—" he shook his head, "I don't have _another_ quirk." He didn't sound entirely convincing, but he hadn't told anyone of his other quirk. No one needed to know of that… that _curse._

However, Iida remained calm, "Yesterday, during the battle simulation, Bakugo told me you possessed another quirk. However, I think he referred to it as a curse rather than a quirk."

It could have been the calm way in which Iida delivered the information, or perhaps it was the overall knowledge that Bakugo had spilled his secret—though that shouldn't have surprised him—but either way, Izuku found himself frozen in the middle of the hallway. Dazedly, he looked around, grateful that the hallway was empty save for himself and Iida.

"I… I—" he didn't want to lie to his friend, but… would he even be his friend if he knew what his other quirk was? He knew he couldn't hide his quirk forever, he shouldn't even be hiding it now, besides things would turn out so much worse if he hid it from them and they found out later—just like what was happening now with Iida. He probably already knew what his quirk was, it wasn't like Bakugo to be discreet when it came to ridiculing him.

His thoughts were cut off by Iida, "Midoriya, I didn't mean to upset you. It's okay if you don't want to answer. I won't force you, and I apologize if I made you uncomfortable. I know it is uncommon for someone to have two quirks, but it's not unheard of either; I can understand if you thought there would be a bias against you, especially considering how strong your one quirk is, but just know that you can tell us if you want. We won't judge you."

He… didn't have to tell Iida if he didn't want to? Wasn't Iida disappointed in his apparent distrust of him? Typically in this situation, he wasn't given a choice—he was forced, one way or another, to spill his secrets.

It was unexpected, this control he now found he had.

It was nice.

"Midoriya, we should get going, we don't want to be late to lunch." Iida had already started to walk away, leaving Izuku standing in the middle of the hallway, looking like an idiot.

Izuku nodded before following suit, "Yeah." He took a deep breath, trying to control his inner turmoil. Iida was his friend, he deserved to know, he _wouldn't_ turn his back on Izuku, he had to believe Iida was better than that.

"Say, Iida," neither one stopped but he saw a slight shift in Iida's demeanor, signaling that he had heard him, "I do actually have another quirk… I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys before… it's just, it's not something I'm proud of, ya know?"

"Bakugo called it a curse." Iida commented idly.

Izuku winced, but nodded, "That's not too far off from it actually," he added sullenly.

"You know Midoriya," Iida's voice took on a pensive note, "You're not your quirk. Even if you _think_ it's cursed, that doesn't mean you are…"

Izuku just stared at him with a dumbfounded expression. Of course, he knew that… _he wasn't cursed_. He just _felt_ cursed sometimes.

"And," Iida, continued, "as your friend, I just want you to know, I would never judge you based off your quirk."

He didn't know what to say, so instead, Izuku just nodded silently, a hopeful spark shining in his eye. Maybe he should trust Iida, tell him his quirk. Iida had already said he wouldn't judge him, and Izuku had no reason as to not trust him… only past experience kept him from spilling everything.

"We should… we should probably head to the cafeteria," Izuku said.

Iida nodded, and together they headed towards the cafeteria.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask you this all day, but you looked kind of nervous during class today… I don't want to pry or anything, it was just an observation I had."

Izuku faltered a bit before a sheepish grin overtook his features. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about Shichi. "Actually, yeah. You see, my cat, Shichi, she kinda got… how do I explain it, captured? By a bird… I know it's ridiculous, but the whole thing has me a bit upset. I don't know what kind of mischief she'll get into and whatnot—" He cut himself off once he realized he was rambling. "But yeah, I'm a little worried about her…"

"I see," Iida said stoically, stopping right before the entrance to the cafeteria, "I can understand your apprehensiveness at the situation. Is there anything I can do to help, perhaps bring this up to a teacher. With their skills, I'm sure they could lend us a hand if need be."

Before Izuku could answer, an alarm went off. A security breach.

"What's—" Before Iida could finish his sentence, the doors to the cafeteria opened, and students swarmed the hallway in a frenzied panic.

Izuku and Iida were both pushed to the side as the students continued to rampage throughout the hallway.

Izuku couldn't really tell what was going on, but Iida seemed to have understood the situation because his eyes lit up with determination. "Midoriya, it's just the press. I saw them from the window. We need to alert every one of the situation: panicking will do us no good."

Izuku agreed with Iida, there was no sense in panicking if there was nothing wrong. "You're right, but how do we tell that to everyone?"

"Guys! There you are!" Someone called from behind them, it sounded like Uraraka.

They both struggled to turn, being crushed by their fellow classmates. Before Izuku could say anything, Iida spoke up, "Uraraka, use your quirk on me. Please, it's urgent."

Izuku just watched, slightly mystified, as Iida started to rise above the crowd and direct them.

"Everyone! Calm down, it's just the press. There is no reason to be panicking." He kept his voice clear and concise, something Izuku doubted he would have been able to do in that circumstance.

Slowly, but surely, the chaos melted into a quiet disruption before everyone was acting calm and rational.

In retrospect, the whole ordeal had happened rather quickly, not any longer than ten minutes or so and as they slowly made their way back to their classroom, Izuku had decided: the one best fit to be class president wasn't him, but Iida.

* * *

After all the chaos had ended, Izuku met up with Iida and Uraraka. They had agreed to walk to the train station together before parting ways. Izuku was glad that in the end, things had worked themselves out, and Iida ended up becoming the class president; he was eternally grateful that Aizawa really couldn't have cared less about the entire situation.

He just hadn't thought he would be a good fit for the role, and when Iida had managed to calm down almost everyone when the alarm went off, he proved that he would be a great class president. Furthermore, Iida was someone he could trust, as class president and classmate, but more importantly, Izuku could trust him as a friend.

As he walked behind his friends, he couldn't stop the smile that found its way onto his face.

However, before they could even leave the school grounds, Izuku stopped. In all the turmoil that had just happened, Izuku completely forgot about Shichi… again.

He paled at the realization. She had been missing for most of the day now, captured by a bird—what if something terrible had happened? Shichi may not be his cat per se, but Izuku thought of her as his own ever since he had found her lying on the street, bleeding out from a hit and run.

They had a special bond, or well, a closer bond than most people do with their pets. Sometimes, Izuku wondered if Shichi was smarter than she let on. Shichi was a peculiar cat, and it really wouldn't have surprised him if it turned out that she had a quirk—though it was rare, there were known cases where an animal developed a quirk, his principal just happened to be one.

"Deku… are you okay? You just kinda stopped…" Uraraka hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder, promptly snapping him out of his stupor.

Her voice was laden with concern, but he brushed her off easily enough, "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine just… I'm worried about Shichi. I haven't seen her since this morning when—" he was cut off by a sharp banging sound, like something hitting a hollow trash can, and a yowl.

All three of them turned to the direction of the sound.

Waltzing out, with brown tawny feathers scattered about her fur, came Shichi, a cheeky grin plastered on her face. She mrowed at them as if she hadn't just come out of nowhere, covered in bird feathers.

Izuku was so flustered he didn't say anything, just watched with curious eyes as she strode forward, pride and satisfaction written all over her features. It wasn't until she had hobbled forward and rubbed against his leg that Izuku was startled enough to react appropriately, "Shichi! I've been so worried about you, where have you been?"

Shichi just gave him a pointed look, Izuku could swear on his life that if she could talk she would say something along the lines of ' _That sounds like a you problem.'_

He then noticed the feathers all around her, as if plucked from a hawk or something of the likes. He eyed her suspiciously, "What did you do?"

In reply, Shichi mewed, as if to say ' _Isn't it obvious?'_

Izuku knelt and scratched her behind the ears. She purred.

From behind him, Uraraka giggled, "Shichi sure is a rambunctious cat, isn't she?"

He nodded, "Yeah, she gets herself in the craziest situations… Usually, I have to intervene before she gets herself hurt or worse… but it looks like things worked themselves out today."

"Midoriya," Iida cut in, curiosity riddling his tone, "didn't you say Shichi had been taken by a bird earlier?"

As if to respond, Shichi went up to Iida and purred, before she spotted her tail twitching and changed focus to that—watching her chase her tail in circles was something Izuku didn't think would ever get old.

"Yes, well, it seems she got away from the bird… Guess I really shouldn't have worried about you so much, huh, Shichi?"

Shichi smiled at him, her body twisted awkwardly as she held her tail in her mouth. She let out a muffled meow, trying, and failing, to walk over to Izuku. In the end, Izuku just shook his head and grabbed her as she absolutely refused to release her tail.

"I guess that wraps that up? We should probably go home now."

"Yeah," both Iida and Uraraka said in unison as they walked behind him.

They were about halfway to the train station now, but Izuku had something he thought he should say… because he knew he could trust his friends. He cleared his throat, "So guys," he started, twiddling his thumbs nervously.

"Yeah, what's up Deku?" Uraraka asked, petting Shichi (she had jumped into Uraraka's hands shortly after they left the school).

This was harder than he thought… he'd never told anyone what his quirk was willingly, it's wasn't something he was exactly proud of, but they deserved to know. "So, you know my quirk?"

"You mean that ridiculous super strength you have?" Uraraka inquired.

Iida remained silent, and Izuku figured he already knew where this conversation was going.

Izuku nodded, "Yeah… well, that's not-that's not my only quirk." He bit his lip in anticipation.

Iida only nodded, waiting for him to continue, but Uraraka's eyes went wide, "You have two quirks!? That's awesome! What is it? That's so cool that you have two quirks,.I know some people have more than one quirk… but it's kinda rare isn't it…?"

"Uhh, yeah, I guess… it's not-It's not a _big_ deal or anything." Izuku scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. He briefly wondered if they would have that same reaction once they knew his quirk, or if they would scorn him once he told them. He quickly shook his head of the thought.

 _No,_ he berated himself, _they're your friends, they won't hate you for something like this, Iida even told you that earlier. They're better than those other kids._

This time, Iida did cut in, "Midoriya, I would understand if you have apprehensions against telling us, don't force yourself."

"No, no, it's fine, really," he amended, "I should tell someone at least. It's not exactly a quirk I'm proud of." The scar that ran down his neck burned. "It's not even a great quirk or anything, so there's no need to get excited. Actually, if anything it's kind of a terrible quirk—" He was rambling again. Why was it so difficult to tell his friends what his quirk was?

They were both looking at him, but not with disdain or spite, no, they were looking at him with curiosity, but mostly with concern.

"Deku… it's really cool that you have a second quirk and all, but you don't _have_ to tell us if you're uncomfortable with it."

"I know I don't, and I really appreciate the concern, but I want to-I want to tell you guys." He just had to blurt it out.

He took a deep breath and told them, "My quirk is bad luck."

"Huh?" Uraraka said, "bad luck?"

"I'm sure it's not as bad as you say it is." Iida had entirely misinterpreted his words, it seemed.

"No, no, I mean… my quirk, it _is_ bad luck, that's what it does. It manifests terrible luck around me and, in most cases, for me." He turned away from them, not able to look at them anymore, shame washing over him. "I can't really control it all that well, but I can usually maintain it. It's _usually_ nothing big, just missing trains or hitting all red lights, but sometimes, it can cause other things to happen."

Uraraka was the first one to break the silence, "But, wouldn't that mean it brings about good luck as well? I mean, what's unlucky for you must be lucky for others right?" There was no malice, only genuine interest in his quirk.

He… Izuku had never really thought of it like that before. "I… I guess? Maybe, but you don't… you don't hate me?" he winced as he asked the question.

"Why would we hate you?" Iida cut in, "There's nothing you've said that would warrant hate from us. I think your quirk is quite fascinating, to be able to control something as fleeting and intangible as luck. I think that's a very valuable quirk"

"I-I… really? You think so?" Izuku had only ever heard bad things about his quirk, how it could hurt people, cause trouble. No one had ever said it was fascinating or _valuable._

"Yeah, Deku, that's so cool…" He turned to face Uraraka, seeing only wonder in her eyes, not resentment. It was a new feeling, for someone to compliment him on his quirk. Something akin to realization flashed in her eyes, and she spoke up, "Oh, now I get it."

"Get what?" he asked.

"Why you were so mad at Aizawa-sensei the other day. Because your quirk is luck based, and as you said, it mainly caused you to have unfortunate luck, you didn't like it when he said that you were lucky to be here, right?"

He nodded mechanically, "Uh, yeah, I've never really had the best of luck, even before I realized I had my quirk to blame for it, so it kind of struck a nerve with me."  
"Understandable, If I were in your position, I'm sure I would feel the same way," Iida added.

They continued to talk the entire way to the train station, where coincidently, Izuku had missed his train. Instead of feeling down though, he laughed it off easily with both Iida and Uraraka, because now they understood why this seemed to happen to him so often.

Izuku was glad he had told them, it was a massive weight off his shoulders, and it got him thinking. Something they had said, about his quirk manipulating luck in general, he wondered if there was any merit to that. After all, his misfortune could end up being someone else's fortune right? So, who's to say he couldn't control who got lucky and who didn't? It was worth a shot anyway—something he could bring up with his mom, or possibly even All Might.

* * *

AN: I hope you enjoyed that. It's a nice dish of light, fluffy stuff before things get real in the next few chapters :)

UNtil next time,

Vera~


	7. Creature from the Black Lagoon

AN: So, I'm done with classes for the semester, so woohoo! I have an entire month to do nothing. Which is great. Gives me a chance to get some writing done! I'm super excited for this chapter so I hope you enjoy it: :DD  
Also, WARNINGS: Minor character death in this chapter. It's not super graphic or anything, but I think it warrants a warning all the same.

well, anyway, ejoy~ :D

* * *

"We didn't come here to fight monsters. We're not equipped for it. We came here to find fossils."

* * *

"We have to sign waivers?" Someone sitting behind Izuku—by the pitch of their voice it sounded like Mineta—asked despairingly as their teacher, Aizawa, passed back the forms.

"They're liability waivers. Since we'll be going to the Unexpected Simulation Joint, we need to, by law, have you sign these waivers. It's just a precaution, I assure you," Aizawa droned on unenthusiastically.

This knowledge eased no one; they had never expected to have to sign any kind of liability waivers, but still signed it regardless. There wasn't any getting around it, and as Aizawa said, it was just a precaution, none of them would be in any actual danger.

Besides, Izuku thought, it made sense; if anyone got hurt while they were training the school didn't want to be held accountable for it. It was just a precaution for something that _could_ happen, not something that would _actually_ happen.

A nervous knot formed in his stomach, it twisted about before settling like a cold, dead weight. He tried to ignore it, but it almost felt like a warning… one he would be wise to heed.

He turned his attention back to Aizawa as he spoke up again, "Alright class, listen up. As you already know, we'll be going to the USJ. As such, it has been decided that you will be supervised by three heroes: All Might, myself, and a specialist in the field that we'll be covering today."

He paused for a moment, letting the excitement and anticipation build. "It'll be a trial of rescue; we'll be going over rescue simulations and proper ways to deal with different scenarios."

Rescue simulations… he was going to learn how to use his quirk for good, to help people… he just hoped that was even possible with bad luck. He knew Uraraka had said it wasn't bad luck, just luck in general, but she hadn't seen the destruction his quirk could cause. She didn't know what his quirk was capable of.

He was pulled from his reverie by Aizawa telling them all to put their hero suits on. Unfortunately, his suit had been damaged fighting Bakugo meaning he couldn't wear it, and so, he just put on his gym uniform, with a few additions from his suit such as knee and elbow braces, his belt, and his gloves.

After everyone had put on their hero suit, they congregated outside, waiting for the bus. As they waited, Izuku caught sight of Uraraka making her way over to him. "Hey Uraraka," he waved slightly at her.

She waved back, "Hey Deku, what's up— oh, hey you're not wearing your hero suit?"

"Nah," he shrugged, "it was damaged from the fight the other day, and the support crew hasn't finished fixing it yet." He didn't think it was a big deal, and it wasn't really, so he had no problem shrugging it off.

"Just your luck I suppose?"

Izuku stared at her, not sure how to respond before she gave a knowing smile, and they both broke into a laugh.

It was nice, being able to laugh off the inconveniences of his quirk with someone else for a change. Usually, he was scolded for any infraction or disturbance his quirk caused, but sometimes, he just wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it. Now, because Uraraka and Iida knew about his quirk and _hadn't_ held him in contempt for it, he could. It was relief he didn't know he desperately needed until he had it.

"Yeah, I suppose it is," he grinned.

Uraraka's face lit up, "Oh, speaking of…" she quickly took a simple threaded necklace from her neck and held it out for him, "I had some time last night, so I took some time to research some good luck charms and decided to make one for you!"

She smiled brightly, leaving Izuku to stare at the charm, it was relatively simple, an Omamori, red in color, but there were little designs in blue around the edges, and the kanji written for it was kaiun, a symbol of luck. So, it was just an overall luck charm, Izuku deduced.

"I know it's not amazing or anything, and the workmanship is kind of sloppy—"

"I love it," Izuku cut in, tying the string around his neck and carefully tucking the omamori inside his shirt to keep it close to his person. "Thank you, Uraraka," he said genuinely. It wasn't fancy, nor was it expensive, but she had made it for him, she had put effort into this, just for him. She didn't have to do that, and it meant a lot that she did.

Uraraka looked relieved, "Oh good, I'm glad." She then looked behind him, "I also made something for Shichi… though it looks like she isn't here…"

"Oh, no, I didn't see her this morning on my way to the train station, so I figured her owners must have kept her inside," Izuku stated nonchalantly.

"Oh," confusion lit up Uraraka's features, "Shichi really isn't your cat then? I know you said she wasn't and that she had owners… but she's always with you so I figured that she was, like, actually a stray or something…"

Izuku shook his head, "It's… kind of complicated actually," he sheepishly scratched his neck, unintentionally tracing his scar, "She _was_ a stray, but after she got hit by a car—"

"She got hit by a car?!"

"Uh, yeah, she did.. That's why she's missing a leg. Anyway, so after that, I wanted to take her in, because I was the one who found her and took her to the vet… but, the thing was… we, my mom and I, the vet bills were expensive, and we couldn't really pay for them let alone everything else she would have needed…" He trailed off, a little ashamed of his economic status.

However, rather than giving him any judgment as others had before, she nodded understandingly, "I get that… My family is the same way. I hope that by becoming a hero I can help them out a little." She smiled sadly.

"Is that why you want to be a hero?" He questioned.

She nodded. "I know it's kinda selfish and—"

"No, not at all, I think that's really admirable."

The rest of their conversation was cut off by the bus arriving.

Iida made a show of keeping everyone in line and trying to make getting on the bus easy, but in the end, it hadn't mattered as they all just barreled into the bus. Izuku ended up sitting next to Asui, which he didn't mind at all, she was nice enough. He just didn't know her all that well.

All around him people were engaging in small talk, while he sat idly, not actively saying anything, but listening contently. Someone tapped his shoulder, and he turned to Asui.

"Oh, hey, Asui…" he sputtered out a little too fast to be considered casual.

Without missing a beat, she responded, "You can call me Tsuyu. Midoriya, your quirk seems to be a lot like All Might's… but you don't use it often. Why is that?"

Izuku blanched… oh. He knew why he used it sparingly—he couldn't control it, and thus, it broke his bones, but they didn't know that. They knew he had broken his finger using it during Aizawa's test, but he didn't actually use it during his battle with Bakugo, so they hadn't really seen what it could do… just a preview.

"Yeah, now that you mention it," Kirishima cut in, "he didn't even use his quirk against Bakugo."

Nervousness overtook Izuku, and he warily cast his gaze to Bakugo, expecting an outburst from him at the comment, but Bakugo just sent a heated glare his way and turned to look out the window. Come to think of it, Bakugo had been awfully quiet lately, he hadn't said anything to him since they last spoke after their battle, and even then Izuku had initiated that conversation.

"I-well, um…" He stuttered out haphazardly as Kirishima and Tsuyu waited for an explanation.

Thankfully, Iida came to his rescue, "I think, considering how damaging his quirk can be, Midoriya decided it would be in his best interest to withhold using his quirk unless it was absolutely necessary."

Izuku quickly nodded in agreement, "Yeah, that. I'm not— I can't really control my quirk that well either, so I didn't want to use it if I could help it…"

"Is that why you broke your finger during Aizawa's test? Because you couldn't control your quirk?" Kaminari added in thoughtfully.

Izuku nodded slowly. He couldn't reveal too much, lest he gave away his relationship to All Might, but it wasn't like it was a secret that he couldn't control his quirk—there were a lot of people who had quirks that were difficult to manage, so it really shouldn't have come off as so strange… right?

"I see," Kirishima nodded in understanding, "I guess that makes sense, still dude, that sucks that you break bones just by using it."

"I guess you could just say I'm rather _unlucky,_ " he chuckled.

Izuku noticed how the rest of the class seemed to nod their heads in agreement, and for once, he didn't feel condemned by them for it.

It was weird, but now that he had told people, even if it was only his two friends, about his quirk and they had accepted him, it came more natural to joke about it. There wasn't a crushing guilt that weighted down on him, or at least, it was more manageable now.

Something told him this feeling wouldn't last long. Sooner or later, his luck _would_ run out.

* * *

The USJ was enormous, with a plethora of different rescue scenarios within its confines. Izuku, as well as the rest of the class, looked at it in awe. He couldn't believe this was something he got to train in, that this was a facility built specifically for them to train in.

There was a hero standing to the side, at the top of the stairs that led down to the plaza, the Pro Hero No. 13. They were wearing their hero suit and looked totally cool. He looked around the facility, taking in every aspect that he could, extremely excited to be working with one of the best-known rescue heroes in this day and age.

"This is the USJ." Izuku turned to see the Pro Hero, No. 13, speaking up. "This is the practical training area I made; it was made with multiple different disasters in mind."

Besides Izuku, Uraraka was gushing, "It's No. 13!" She looked ready to explode with enthusiasm—it was probably very similar to how he felt when he first met All Might.

"You a big fan as well?" he inquired, trying to quell his own fanboy-ish nature. They were in class, now wasn't the time to nerd out.

She nodded, "Yeah! No. 13 is one of the best disaster relief heroes. I want to be like them when I become a pro."

Izuku nodded his head in understanding.

No. 13 was about to continue their speech, when Aizawa cut them off, "13, All Might was supposed to be here with you by now… care to tell me where he's gone off to?"

Izuku whipped his head around, searching for the number one hero. _All Might was supposed to be here?_ He noted how No. 13 was holding up three fingers… which in all honesty, really shouldn't have meant much, but it reminded Izuku of something All Might had told him.

A while back, not long after he had started training with All Might, Izuku had wondered why he never stayed in his hero form for a long time. Although reluctant to tell him, All Might had eventually caved, realizing that it was something he wouldn't be able to keep from his successor for long.

It had been explained to him by All Might then, that because of his grievous wounds from five years prior (six years now) he couldn't maintain his hero form for longer than three hours.

The thought was fleeting, but there nonetheless. There was a chance that _wasn't_ what No. 13 meant when they held up their hand in a three, but then again, when was Izuku's luck ever in his favor? Still, it was a long shot, and there really wasn't any noteworthy reason to be worrying over it. They still had Eraserhead and No. 13, two pro heroes, here just for safe measure.

His attention was brought back to reality by No. 13 addressing the entire class, "Before we get started there are a few things we need to go over. As you are all more than likely aware of, my quirk is called _Black Hole_ ; anything, and I mean anything, that gets caught in its suction will turn into nothing but dust."

It was a crazy strong quirk, they all knew that. Izuku would never admit it, but he was a little jealous of it, compared to his own quirk (not the one given to him by All Might) it was truly spectacular.

"That quirk is perfect for rescuing people and removing wreckage from a disaster zone," Izuku idly commented, his mind having already come up with various uses for such a quirk.

"Yes, that is true," No. 13 started, "however, one must keep in mind that a powerful quirk like this could easily be used to kill people. One slip up or mistake is all it would take to end someone's life."

This caught Izuku off guard. Of course… he knew that… he knew that _any_ quirk could, potentially, be used to harm someone else, to kill them, but… to hear that same line of thinking coming from a pro with an undoubtedly great quirk and not from bullies who wanted him to suffer was… well, it was different.

Izuku took a moment to reign himself in, looking at his hands he thought about the quirk he inherited. _It_ could easily kill someone—hell it could kill him if he wasn't careful while using it. Not to mention how dangerous his natural born quirk was… _he was already well aware of how deadly it could be._

His unease was not isolated to himself as he noticed several people were regarding themselves with a newfound perspective on how dangerous, how harmful their quirks could be.

Before he could dwell on it any longer, No. 13 continued, "With Aizawa, you all learned of the potential of your quirks, and with All Might you came to understand the repercussions and dangers of your quirks. Now, today, we'll start studying how you can use your quirks to aid people."

Could his quirk really be used to help people?

"Your quirks are not meant for you to hurt others with them; please, if you only learn one thing today, know that your quirks exist to help people," No. 13 finished confidently.

Quirks… exist to help people? If that was true… then… his quirk _was_ meant to help people. That didn't make sense though—bad luck only ever hurt people. " _Wouldn't that mean it brings about good luck as well? I mean, what's unlucky for you must be lucky for others right?"_ Uraraka's words poked at the back of his brain. Maybe his quirk wasn't all that bad… at least, some good could come from it… right?

Quirks existed to help people… so, there _had_ to be more to his quirk than mere bad luck. Because his quirk _could_ help people, it would help people. He was going to be a hero, and he was going to use his quirk to save people. No. 13 had even said that _all_ quirks existed to help people… and he wanted to believe them desperately. He really did.

He had people that believed in him now… so maybe he should start believing in himself as well.

No. 13 had finished their speech and was giving Aizawa the reigns to take charge. Something twisted in Izuku's gut; he could feel it, a bad omen or something… something terrible was going to happen.

Izuku swallowed thickly and looked around, he knew to trust his instincts on this type of thing. If there was one aspect to his quirk that he was grateful for, it was that he typically knew when something unfavorable was about to occur.

The scenery before him looked fine though. Nothing looked as though it were about to break, there were no telltale signs of distress.

Then… behind Aizawa, he saw something askew, by the fountain in the main lobby. It seemed as though his teacher noticed it too because he whipped his head back and took up a defensive stance. Izuku, as well as the rest of the class, took notice of his posture and became uneasy.

The air stilled, before coalescing near the center, where the disturbance had first been. Slowly, a black hole formed, well not a _black hole_ , more like an expansion of the blackness.

Izuku had thought that this might have been part of their training, but then he saw the edge in Aizawa's gaze as he put his goggles on and readied his capture weapon.

From the blackness, people emerged.

They didn't look friendly. They looked… they looked almost like villains. That was impossible though. This had to be a part training exercise or something…

There were so many. They were far outnumbered as even more people clambered out of the gate.

This wasn't training.

 _This was real._

Finally, one more person came out… he looked like the leader, with the way he sauntered through the… black gate-like quirk or whatever it was. He was covered in hands, and his entire demeanor screamed insanity. There was a strange aura leaking from him… something that dared him to try and fight it; Izuku hoped he would never have to experience his quirk if this was the aura he gave off.

By his side was some sort of… well it wasn't human, of that Izuku was sure. Its brain was exposed, and its eyes, though it was a fair distance from Izuku, he could tell, they were hollow, empty.

Aizawa took up a defensive battle stance. "No. 13, protect the students! Stay together and don't move!" he urgently yelled, barking the orders at everyone.

Around him, Izuku's classmates looked confused and in some cases, a little terrified. He didn't blame them, he was confused. _Why were there villains here?_ Just what was going on?

"Class!" Aizawa snapped, "Stay back, those are villains."

A chill webbed its way through Izuku, paralyzing him.

They all watched as the gate, or portal or whatever, closed, disintegrating into a person… another villain.

Said villain spoke calmly, "Pro hero No. 13 and Eraserhead, but where is All Might? Our sources told us he would be here today."

Another villain spoke up, the one with all the hands, his voice was gruff and scratchy, "After we went through, all the trouble of finding these villains… and All Might doesn't even bother to show up… pitiful. Do you think he'll show up if we kill a few kids?"

In the silence of the plaza, their words were a knife, slicing everyone with the echoes.

The room chilled with malicious intent.

It all happened so fast.

The villains were making their way towards the group of students now.

Beside him, Izuku heard someone whisper, "This can't be happening."

He turned to see his classmates, frozen in fear, standing on edge. This was actually happening. They weren't even a week into their school year and villains were attacking them _._ Real, actual villains. Of course, Izuku had a run-in with a villain before, the sludge villain… twice, but this was different.

That had been an accident, a coincidence, an unfortunate circumstance (because, honestly, when did Izuku ever get a lucky break), but this… this was calculated.

They had been in an isolated facility, away from the school. This was the only time a class had been scheduled here. This, for once, wasn't a stroke of bad luck, Izuku concluded. It had been calculated.

To his right, he heard Yaoyorozu, "Shouldn't there be an alarm system—"

"We do… but—" Fleetingly, he saw No. 13 shake their head.

"If the sensors aren't responding, then that means they have someone with a quirk who can disrupt them," Todoroki cut in.

Aizawa had already started to move. "No. 13, protect the students, proceed with the evacuation procedure, and try to contact the school. If the villains know how to get around the sensors, then there's a chance you'll meet some interference."

He barked out orders, his demeanor completely different than before, "Kaminari, you too, use your quirk to try contacting Yuuei!" Kaminari startled at the command, but immediately did as he was told.

Aizawa looked ready to fight the army of villains in the plaza, something that both amazed and terrified Izuku. There were so many villains. Izuku knew Eraserhead's style of fighting, it was suited for one on one combat…

He didn't really think about it before he shouted, "Wait! Aizawa, you can't seriously be thinking of fighting them… your battle style is to capture after erasing quirks. That doesn't work when there are so many villains in the area!"

Aizawa paid him no mind, "I couldn't be considered a pro if I only had one trick, now could I?"

Maybe it was the direness of the situation, but for some reason, Izuku still found himself doubting his teacher.

Before Izuku had time to even think about what was happening, Aizawa had lept into action, his capture weapon striking out at enemies as his hair defied gravity, signaling the use of his quirk.

For a moment, Izuku was caught up in awe as Aizawa battled the villains. It was clear that even if he was the one outnumbered, the villains were the ones who were outmatched.

Seeing his teacher in action washed away all his doubts from before.

Aizawa was a master at hand-to-hand combat, and it showed—the way he dealt with the villains made it obvious. They weren't up to par with him. They stumbled and faltered over themselves, unsure who he was using his quirk on—his goggles hiding his line of sight—while they feebly attempted to attack him.

All in all, it was sort of mesmerizing, reminding Izuku of when he would search out villain fights to analyze them. He kind of lost himself in the fight, watching it with fervor until he was pulled from his trance by one of his classmates.

"Midoriya! Now isn't the time to gawk, we need to evacuate." It was Iida, pulling him from where he was standing, staring. He shook his head, Iida was right, now was no time to be watching the fight, they were in danger.

Izuku turned and started to advance towards the exit with the rest of the class when something blocked their path. No, not something… _someone._ It was that black misty villain.

"I'm afraid I can't let you leave," the villain leered.

Everyone stopped in their tracks, fear overwhelming them.

The villain didn't appear to have a physical body, only a black veil of a thick mist that permeated the area around them, caging them in.

"Greetings," the villain shifted through the air, never staying statuary, "we are the League of Villains. I wish to apologize for the inconvenience, but you see, our objective for today is to extinguish your so-called symbol of peace… All Might. However, it seems as though he is missing from the premise today; was he not meant to be here today? Was there, perchance, an altercation that led to him not being here?"

There was a beat where no one said a word.

The villain waited patiently, knowing they had the upper hand in this situation. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Izuku saw two people jump out, attacking the villain.

It was a futile effort, they—Kirishima and Bakugo—realized soon enough, when their attacks landed on nothing but air. If anything, their advancements served to do nothing more than anger the villain before them. The aura around the villain darkened, and a sinking feeling fell in Izuku's gut.

The villain warped around them, confining them in the small space. Something pulled at Izuku, some intangible force that separated him from his peers. He wasn't the only one being pulled; his classmate were all being pulled, forced into separate directions, towards the inky blackness that surrounded them.

A deep rumbling saturated the area, filling everyone with a deep sense of terror, " _YoU wiLl bE sCattERed anD TorTurED… yOu wiLL All be KilLeD."_

Izuku's blood ran cold as the villain's smoke engulfed him.

The sensation wasn't... abnormal, but the absolute black that surrounded him was unnerving. The moment only lasted a second though, before he was falling. It took him a second too long to comprehend the situation as his back and shoulder hit something roughly.

Izuku let out a pained gasp before he found himself submerged in icy water. Despite the throbbing that rang through his shoulder, Izuku assessed the situation as best as he could.

He didn't get a chance to take a deep breath before the water had inundated him. He knew he needed to breach the surface quickly, lest he run out of air.

 _So his quirk must be some kind of warping. I hope everyone is okay… that villain must have split us up and thrown us all around the USJ. This doesn't bode well… and their objective seems to be All Might himself…_

Izuku was, quite literally, shaken from his thoughts by something running past him. He turned in the water, trying to get his bearings as well as reach the surface—his breath was running out.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something; twisting his features his eyes met those of another villain, this one with some kind of aquatic, shark-like quirk. The villain gave him a toothy grin, showcasing all of their razor sharp teeth, "Looks like the _chum_ has arrived. Don't take this personal kid, but—"

The villain was cut off by something—someone—slamming into their side. Before he could even react, something wrapped around his torso, expelling the air from his lungs simultaneously, and launched both of them to the surface.

It was Asui, Izuku noted once they were above the water's surface.

The moment he could, Izuku took a deep breath of air, filling his burning lungs with it. Once he had caught his breath, he noted that Asui had not only rescued him from the shark villain, but was also carrying Mineta in tow with her.

He didn't quite catch it, but he thought he heard Mineta mumbling something to Asui—he decided he didn't really want to know the details of his mumblings.

There was a boat of decent size placed perfectly in the water before them. Izuku was about to suggest they collect themselves there when Asui unceremoniously threw him onto the deck of the boat.

His shoulder slammed hard into the wood, and he knew without a doubt that it was dislocated. He'd dislocated his shoulder enough by now to know what it felt like… and right now the immense pain burning through his shoulder told him he had done just that

It didn't take long for Asui and Mineta to both clamber into the boat. For the moment, everything was calm, or well, calmer.

"Thanks, but, uhh… next time can you maybe try and not dislocate my shoulder…" he said weakly, clutching his shoulder. Honestly, at the moment it throbbed more than anything, but he knew that it would hurt, really hurt, later on… Though he couldn't really dwell on that right now, they had bigger problems.

Asui looked horrified, "Midoriya, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"It's fine, really, just… you know, don't do it again if you can help it, Asui—" he finished rather lamely.

"You can just call me Tsuyu, and still… I'm sorry I hurt you."

Izuku clutched his dislocated shoulder, "Yeah… it's..." he bit his lip, a mirthless light floating in his eyes, "just unfortunate."

He glanced out of the boat, noting that the shark villain wasn't anywhere to be seen, "Um, actually, Tsuyu, would you mind popping my shoulder back in place." He said it nonchalantly, as if it wasn't a big deal, because, to him, it really wasn't… but apparently, Mineta thought otherwise.

"H-how can you be so casual about something like that?" Mineta stuttered out, unconsciously rubbing his own shoulder for comfort. "There are villains here… we're all going to die… and you're just standing here. Talking about dislocated shoulders as if it were normal!" Horror reflected in his face as he said that.

Tsuyu, though she didn't look exactly confident, was more put together than Mineta, gripped his shoulder, sending a white-hot flare through his arm. He grunted, but said nothing else as he nodded for her to pop his shoulder back in its socket.

"On three." He tensed at her words but gave a weak smile.

Mineta looked more concerned about the state of his shoulder than Izuku did, though, maybe it was because Izuku had dislocated his shoulder multiple times before… it always hurt, but each time it got a little more manageable.

He heard Tsuyu count to two before snapping his shoulder back in place. A thrill of pain sprinted up his arm, ripping at the nerves for a moment before settling down. He grit his teeth to keep from letting out any sound as the pain rolled over his shoulder. It only lasted a few moments before subsiding. _Not too bad, could have been worse._

He made sure his shoulder was secure and in place, or at least good enough for now. He would have to check it out later, after all of this was over, because he knew there could be possible damage to his nerves, even if he couldn't exactly feel it now.

Instead of dwelling on the possibilities of his shoulder injury, Izuku thought about their predicament. "If you think about it, yesterday's break-in was extremely odd. There wasn't really any reason for it unless of course the _villains_ broke in and used the news reporters as a cover-up… in which case, it makes sense that they knew exactly where we would be and when. And if All Might is their objective then—"

"But they couldn't kill All Might! That's impossible. Once he gets here, this nightmare will be over." Mineta was shaking as he spoke.

It briefly made Izuku wonder if maybe Mineta was the only one acting sane in this situation… they were _kids_. They shouldn't have to deal with villains who _were trying to kill them_ , not yet at least… and yet, both Izuku and Tsuyu were holding themselves together quite well. Maybe it was shock that kept them from having an appropriate reaction, but whatever it was, they needed to keep their heads calm and collected if they wanted to get out of this unscathed.

Tsuyu broke Izuku out of his train of thought when she spoke to Mineta, "Whether or not the villains _can_ kill All Might is inconsequential, because if they're here then that means they _must_ have some type of method to kill him ready. No matter how great a hero All Might is, he's still human and can be killed."

Izuku couldn't help but agree with Tsuyu on that point. All Might was powerful, _very_ powerful, but he was human too. Izuku knew things the rest of his class didn't; All Might was injured, whether he looked it or not, and therefore, he _wasn't_ as powerful as he used to be. He had a time limit to his power…

"Mineta," Izuku cut in, grabbing Mineta's full attention, "we're fighting villains, real villains who _want_ to kill us. We can't afford to sit back and wait for a hero to save us… if we do that, we may just end up dead before the heroes get a chance to rescue us."

Mineta just stared at him, shock and despair running through his features.

They were brought out of their stalemate by the sound of the villains growing restless. "COME BACK HERE SO I CAN KILL YA PROPERLY!" a villain screeched.

From all around them, Izuku could hear the cackles of more and more villains as they were slowly but surely surrounded. This didn't bode well for them.

"More and more villains are coming… at this rate, we're gonna need a bigger boat." Izuku mumbled out, trying to think of a way out. Besides him, both Tsuyu and Mineta looked concerned, Mineta more so than Tsuyu…

 _It's true that they must have thought of a way to kill All Might. They were so confident. But we don't know what that plan is… and furthermore, why do they want to kill All Might? Is it because he's the symbol of peace? The number one hero? Or… do they know of his quirk? No, that's impossible, only a select few people even know of his quirk's existence._

The pressure was slowly building in his gut. Their situation, and all that entailed, was swallowing him up in a wretched fog. "There's really only one thing we can do now…"

 _What are their motives… does it even matter? If they're set on attacking us, on killing us then we really only have one choice. If we want to survive…_ "We have to fight, and win, if we want to survive."

* * *

Chaos.

Everything was in anarchy, as soon as that villain separated the class, Tenya knew they were in trouble.

"Is everyone still here? Can we get a confirmation on that?" Tenya cried out in as orderly a fashion as he could, though internally, he was slightly panicking.

Villains had come out of nowhere, literally, and attacked them without warning. This was troubling. Why here? Why now?

No. 13 was, luckily, still with the remaining students in the entrance of the USJ. This gave them a chance, at least, if they were indeed up against skilled villains.

"We're scattered, but everyone is still in the vicinity." No. 13 confirmed. "Please, class president, your quirk is that of speed, correct?"

Tenya nodded, before realizing that in the tense atmosphere, No. 13 didn't have the luxury to turn their gaze away from their enemy. "Y-yes, my quirk is Engine."

"Then I'm entrusting this with you. Please, use your quirk and run back to school and relay the following message: the alarms and triggers have failed to go off, villains have infiltrated USJ, and the students are in immediate danger; Pro hero's Eraserhead and No. 13 request back up as soon as possible."

Tenya understood that _he_ would be the person most suited for this… but, that would mean running away. He didn't want to abandon his classmates, his friends. That felt cowardly, and he was training to become a hero, he couldn't run away and leave his friends alone to face villains.

"It would be unbecoming of the class president to—"

One of his classmates, Satou, he believed, interrupted him, "Go on man, we can't possibly take them on our own. We need you to bring us backup. We're counting on you, class pres."

It took a moment for the words to sink in. As much as Tenya _didn't_ want to run away from the fight, and leave his classmates, he understood… He was their only chance at safely getting the backup they needed.

"Please," No. 13 said, "use your quirk to save people."

Tenya nodded. It was selfish of him, he realized, to put his own concerns before the good of the class. He didn't want to leave them, but he needed to, because, if he wanted to help them, then they needed backup, and he was the quickest way for them to get that backup.

"You can count on me," he stated.

The villain, which had been watching idly before, now blocked their path with an expansive blackness, twisting and warping like flames in the air.

"Interesting that you let your enemy hear your plans… Regardless if I can actually stop him or not, I can't believe you simple minded fools wouldn't try to hide your plans instead of spewing them right in front of me."

No. 13 activated their quirk, a black hole sucking everything in from their fingertips, as they spoke, "Isn't it rather obvious. If you heard our plans, it's because it does not matter to us if you hear them."

Tenya took that as his cue to run.

* * *

"W-what do you mean we have to fight? Are you crazy? If these villains can fight against All Might then what chance do we have?" Mineta was full on blubbering, tears having sprung from his eyes as he stuttered out his pleas.

Izuku shook his head, trying to contain his own fear, which he was doing much better at than Mineta, "We don't know that _these_ villains," he gestured to the multitude of villains waiting just beyond the safety of their small boat, "could take on All Might and besides, we don't have a choice. If we do nothing, we _will_ die, no question. Fighting gives us a chance."

Tsuyu nodded her head in agreement, but Mineta still looked beyond perturbed at the idea of actually fighting the villains.

Still, something about this situation bothered Izuku.

"These villains that are here are all water-based, or at least their strength seems to be in underwater combat," he was just thinking out loud now, "So they must have known the layout beforehand, but then," he turned to Tsuyu, "why would they put you in the flood zone? You're probably the _only_ person in our class with a water-based quirk who can move freely in the water as you please, so why would they put you in your strongest element? It doesn't make sense."

"You're right," Tsuyu added thoughtfully, "The water is where I thrive, but say, to me, that fire zone didn't look all that fun, because the heat would have dried me up… what are you getting at Midoriya?"

"They don't know our quirks."

"They don't?" Mineta chirped in, still a sniveling mess.

Izuku nodded confidently, "No, that's why they split us up. They don't know how much of a threat we pose to them. That being said, the villains here outnumber us and have more years of experience than us… so we need to play our cards right because our only advantage is the fact that they don't know our quirks."

Both Mineta and Tsuyu nodded in understanding. Izuku noted that the villains hadn't made any attempt to chase after them… yet, but that also meant they wouldn't be underestimated.

 _It's okay. We got this, we just need to strategize first. The glass is half full right now. We have an advantage, we better use it to its fullest._

"I can leap fairly high," Tsuyu started, gaining curious looks from both Izuku and Mineta. "For my quirk, I can climb up walls, and my tongue can extend about twenty meters out. I can also inflate my stomach outwards and it's lined with a poisonous mucus, or well, not poisonous so much as it stings… and I can, uh, secrete it."

Besides him, Mineta whispered out "secrete it" in a lewd manner, earning a smack from Tsuyu's tongue.

"That's pretty impressive… as far as quirks go." Izuku commented, "What about you Mineta? What can your quirk do?"

Mineta, without batting an eye, in the most deadpanned way, took one of the purple balls on his head and stuck it to the side of the boat, "They're super sticky, and depending on my health they can last up to a day. They just grow back when I pluck one, but too many, and I'll start to bleed. Also, I'm immune to their stickiness, so I just bounce off of them."

There was a pregnant pause.

"W-why are you all quiet? I told you we should just wait for the heroes to arrive—"

"No, it's a great quirk, we just need to think of a way to use it." Izuku eased.

Tsuyu broke into their conversation, "Say, Midoriya, what about you? We know you have a strength quirk, but is there anything else you can do?"

Izuku gulped. "Yeah, actually, um, well, you see, since I can't control it very well, whenever I use my quirk, my bones usually shatter…"

"Oh, I see." Tsuyu quipped, "So it's like a glass cannon then."

"That's kind of useless to us then if you can't use it.." Mineta chirped up.

Izuku duct his head, he knew Mineta was right, but it still hurt to have his own uselessness being thrown back at him. He knew Mineta didn't mean any harm, he was just scared, like the rest of them, but that was the thing, they didn't have the luxury to be scared right now. They had to act.

He looked at both Tsuyu and Mineta, "Yeah, I guess so, but uh…" it wasn't the ideal situation, which meant that he couldn't hold back any information, so no matter what his reservations were, he had to tell them."I uh, actually do have one other quirk… I don't think it will help us much, but you guys should know…"

They stared at him, curiosity bubbling in their eyes.

He took a deep breath, "I cause bad luck to myself and my surroundings. Sometimes, I can direct it, but mostly it just kinda happens… I can't control _what_ happens per se, but I can kind of direct it one way or another…" he closed his eyes and turned away from them, waiting for the backlash.

He didn't have to wait long, as Mineta screamed at him, though it sounded as though he was mostly afraid, which was somehow worse, "So you mean to tell me that anything bad that happens is because of you?"

Izuku flinched… that wasn't, that's not—

"So then, this is your fault!" It was accusatory, and something in Izuku broke at that. This was the reply he expected, but it still hurt… it pained him more than he was willing to admit, maybe it was because he had told people, and they had _accepted_ him that made this vehement denial so much harsher.

"Mineta!" Tsuyu reprimanded, "That's not true, and you know it. This wasn't due to bad luck or anything, no quirk caused this, especially a quirk from a classmate. This was a calculated strike. No one but the villains are responsible for this."

It made him feel slightly better, to hear Tsuyu stand up for him, but maybe it _had_ been a mistake to tell anyone else of his quirk. Obviously, even if these classmates were leagues better than his previous classmates, they wouldn't take too kindly to a quirk—a curse—like his.

"You kids are annoying! Come out already so we can kill you!" one of the villains shouted right before something struck the ship, slicing it in half (no amount of flex tape could seal the disarray the boat had been left in).

In his panic, Mineta haphazardly started to throw his balls into the water. Izuku was about to yell at him, but stopped short… _What right do I have to yell at Mineta for panicking when I'm the one at fault…. Right? Mineta was right, he has to be. It's, in some way or another, my fault that the villains attacked… It has to be…_ _It's always my fault._

Though, Izuku quickly noticed that the villains weren't going near the balls as they floated by… They weren't taking _any_ chances it seemed. Izuku didn't have time for self-depreciation at the moment, because they needed to act, fast, before the villains figured them out.

"We don't have long until the ship sinks… and then we'll be forced to enter the water… which won't end well," Izuku commented, trying in vain to think of something, _anything_. His body was trembling, because this was real, this was actually happening. Villains, with the intent to kill, were attacking them. They couldn't be freaking out like this if they wanted to survive.

Tsuyu turned on Mineta, "Did you really come to Yuuei to be a hero? Because you're freaking out and acting on impulse instead of thinking through your actions."

"Are you kidding!? These are actual villains, it's crazier that you two," he pointed an accusing finger at the both of them, "are as put together as you are! It wasn't too long ago that we were just middle schoolers. You can't expect us to handle this well… at least let me feel the warmth of a woman before I die," his voice was so broken it was difficult to discern some of the words, but Izuku got the gist.

Izuku was scared too… didn't Mineta understand that? He wasn't taking this well because it was easy for him. He was trying to maintain some semblance of control.

 _He didn't have any other choice._

If he didn't get his shit together, they could die, no, they _would_ die.

His quirk already put them at a major disadvantage, so he had to keep calm, lest he repeat— _No, he wouldn't let that happen, never again._

"Mineta," somehow, though his body was quaking, he held his voice steady, "don't you understand our situation. I'm terrified, shaking even, but I can't afford to let that cloud my judgment. We could die here, Mineta… and that's petrifying, it really is… but if I just sit back and don't do anything… then how could I ever call myself a hero? But… I can't do a lot. I'm not… I don't have control over my one quirk and my other is…" he paused, because his other quirk… could it really even be called a quirk anymore?

Quirks existed to help other people, bad luck didn't help anyone, it only hurt people. It only ever hurt people. No, it couldn't be called a quirk. " _It's a curse,_ but even so, I don't want to die. So my only option is to fight, and to live and become stronger… until _I can_ do something."

"Midoriya…" Tsuyu looked at him, there was… _something_ in her gaze, maybe hurt or possibly pity. Either way, Izuku didn't have time to dwell on it.

"So, we uh, we need a plan." He averted his gaze from her and looked upon the water below them. The villains looked restless with a gleam in their eyes.

Mineta remained quiet while Izuku and Tsuyu tried to figure out how they were going to get past the villains. They had come up with a plan, it wasn't great, and Izuku was positive they could have come up with a better one had they been given more time, but they weren't, and this was what they had to deal with.

The last thing he wanted to do was use his _curse_ (their situation was already unfortunate enough without him adding to it), which left him with his natural, first quirk. He still couldn't control it, but he could direct it, and that was what he was going to do.

The villains were done waiting though, and one of them threw something at the boat. Izuku noticed it a split second before Mineta, but that was all he needed to jump in the way and protect Mineta from getting hurt. The spear, or whatever it was, looked like a dagger made of bone or something, possibly a quirk, dug into his shoulder. At that moment he hadn't even been thinking, all he knew was that someone was in danger, and he _could_ save them. Even if Mineta had said those things, he didn't hold it against him… He was just glad he was okay.

Mineta just gaped at him, seemingly surprised by his actions, but Izuku shrugged it off. Someone was in danger, and he was able to save them, that was all there was to it—it wasn't personal or anything, he just didn't want anybody to get hurt if he could help it… especially if the entire situation was _his fault._

Izuku wasted no time yanking the bone-dagger out of his shoulder, hissing from the pain. His shoulder was bleeding, but not a lot, and it would heal on its own, he knew, so he let it be.

There just wasn't any more time to waste. They had to act, now.

Izuku grabbed the attention of the villains by jumping onto the railing of the boat, finding purchase on the fact that the boat was tilted as it was sinking. He didn't give the villains a moment's notice as he jumped, preparing to sacrifice a finger in exchange for One For All's power.

The scream he let loose was only half meant to distract them from Tsuyu and Mineta following suit. The other half was because it hurt… a lot. He could feel the bone in his finger crumble beneath the skin—Recovery Girl was not going to like seeing this injury if he survived long enough to see her again.

The impact of his quirk's power hitting the water created a whirlpool that sucked the villains in. If they were strong enough swimmers they could swim away, but that was why he had planned ahead. Mineta's quirk was the perfect weapon to clump the villains together as they tried to escape the current. Mineta threw the balls in haphazardly, scattering them about the whirlpool and meshing with the villains, who couldn't escape the strength of the water's flow.

Tsuyu, having the longest leap out of the three of them, was their escape route—she carried Mineta in her arms while she used her tongue to wrap around Izuku. Unfortunately, having her tongue out at such a length made it an easy target. That same villain who had thrown the bone-dagger at Mineta threw one at Tsuyu's tongue, slicing the side and causing it to immediately retract… dropping Izuku into the water below.

Tsuyu looked mortified, but Izuku was more resigned than anything. He should have known, everything was going _too well_. His _curse_ —because it wasn't a quirk, it couldn't be—just couldn't give him one win, one measly win. Nope, that was asking too much.

Izuku was a good swimmer, really, he was, but when one had a broken finger, recently dislocated shoulder that also just happened to have been recently impaled as well, _and_ a whirlpool acting against you, it, well, it really made swimming difficult.

Still, Izuku refused to give up. He saw Tsuyu and Mineta had made it to the edge of the flood zone, they were able to stand in the shallow water. He wasn't that far off from them either. It would only take a minute to get to them, possibly a little longer considering his condition. His shoulder ached miserably—he could ignore that—and his finger was a throbbing bundle of raw nerves, but he could manage. He would have to.

Surprisingly, or well it surprised Izuku, both Tsuyu and Mineta had started running after him, trying to help him. He was about to wave them off, because he could handle it, when something grabbed his leg, and he was pulled under.

The next few seconds were a haze of scrambled limbs entangling in themselves, and an aching chest that longed for oxygen. He couldn't see anything, the water blurred his vision and something whipped him through the water too fast for him to get his bearings.

It was a villain, he knew, but which one he wasn't sure… that was until he felt something sharp brush up against his side before it chomped down. He let out a gasp, before immediately regretting it, and thrashing around ever more desperately.

Within the murky depths of the pool they were in, something mingled with the water, staining it a dark brown.

A fire burned through his chest as water met the empty caverns of his lungs. His side was flaring with that same intense blaze, but the fight was leaving him. It was swallowing him, and he couldn't escape.

His limbs filled with lead and white splotched out his vision. Something flashed across his fogged out vision before he felt the tension leave him, and he was rising to the surface.

Cold air slapped his face, as the water faded away. The fire that had burned his lungs fled up his throat before he was coughing. They were harsh hacks that racked his body painfully, but he was forever grateful either way because it meant he was alive.

"...ya?"

Someone was calling out something, but his ears refused to hear anything.

"...oriya?"

It sounded like his name. Something was shaking him then, trying to gain his attention. Cautiously, he looked up, blearily seeing a face… it looked similar to Tsuyu…

"Tsuyu?" he slurred in between coughs.

"Midoriya, are you alright?"

He nodded, not really even sure what the question was asking. His side felt… funny. Something wasn't right, but he couldn't be bothered to figure it out right now, everything was too jumbled for him to understanding.

Someone shook him, presumably Tsuyu. "Midoriya, I need you to stay awake. We're gonna swim to the edge of the pool, it's not too far off," their voice was direct, but soft.

"Mmhm, sounds good," he said sluggishly. "What…" he paused, forgetting what he was going to say before it came back to him, "What happened?"

Something was pressing against his side, it didn't hurt, but it felt… wrong, like it shouldn't be there.

"Midoriya," he heard a loud cry from his side, and he turned his head to see a purple outline, "are you alright? Oh my god, you're bleeding!" He squinted, wincing at the shrill voice.

"Mineta, I need your scarf. We need to stop the bleeding and we don't have much to work with." Tsuyu demanded, leaving no room for argument.

It took a moment, but after a bout of concentration, the events started to float back into place for Izuku, and his lucidness began to come back to him. He had fallen into the water… and then a villain had attacked him, bit him. He winced at the memory. He had been saved, he realized.

Though it looked like they got out, mostly unscathed?

"Wh-what happened to the villain?" he questioned.

"I trapped him with my quirk," Mineta beamed proudly, for once, the fear was gone.

"R-really?" Izuku flinched, letting out a rasped, muffled scream from the fire that flared to life as Tsuyu tightened Mineta's scarf around his abdomen in an attempt to stop the blood flow. It worked, mostly, but Izuku still felt woozy from blood loss. "How'd you manage that?"

By now they had made it to the edge of the pool and were just trying to catch their breaths, something Izuku desperately needed.

"I just asked myself 'what would Midoriya do?' and then I threw some of my sticky balls at him until his hands had gotten stuck—you'd be surprised how smoothly they glided through the water." Mineta spoke with vigor, his chest puffed out as if he hadn't been cowering only minutes earlier, before he seemed to catch himself and gave Izuku an apologetic look, "Hey, Midoriya… I'm sorry... For what I said earlier… That wasn't fair of me. Even though you're seriously the most unlucky guy I know, and I said those nasty words to you, you still saved me earlier on the boat. You're a real hero…"

It was a genuine apology, there was no malice or ill intent in it or anything, which surprised Izuku... He hadn't thought Mineta would apologize, or that he even had any reason to either.

He wasn't wrong, Izuku could very well be at fault for this whole mess, because of his quirk, but the thing was… he didn't know for sure. He would never be able to know for sure, but for Mineta to admit that he had been wrong and that Izuku not only could be, but _was_ a hero, was beyond him.

It was stunning and unexpected. He really didn't know how to respond.

"I uh… thanks. It's not-It's not a big deal, but I uh, I really appreciate it." He smiled weakly, heaving a sigh.

"I wonder how the rest of the class is doing?" Tsuyu wondered out loud.

Izuku didn't want to think that the rest of the class was facing off against villains too, he was sure they were doing fine, he had nothing but faith in them, but still, the thought was harrowing.

He turned his attention to the middle of the plaza and froze.

There were so many villains, laying on the ground, but that wasn't what caught his attention, no, what he saw utterly horrified him. A chill spider webbed its way through his bones and up his spine until he was completely paralyzed.

His teacher, Aizawa, was lying, unmoving, face in the ground, with some kind of monster holding him down. Izuku couldn't see it properly, but he was sure there was blood pooling under the limp form.

"Hmm, you put up a good fight, but you're no match for my Nomu…" the villain covered in hands idly commented as if he were talking about the weather.

"We're so dead. We're dead." Izuku heard Mineta sob, completely forgetting his facade of bravado from earlier.

They were still half submerged in the water, just at the threshold, but they were fully out in the open too.

The villain took notice of them after Mineta's sputtering, causing Izuku to internally scowl while on the outside his face contorted into fear.

Before he could blink, a person—a villain, _the leader_ —was in front of his face, smiling a crooked grin on cracked skin.

"Well, well, it looks like we have an audience… maybe I should make a show of dominance by killing these kids here, right in front of their teacher?"

The villain wasted no time, his hand reaching out for Tsuyu. Izuku watched in mute agony, unable to move as his hand clasped around her face… but nothing happened.

The smile only grew on the villain's face, "Well, well, aren't you a cool teacher, Eraserhead, using your quirk in that condition?"

Behind the villain, Izuku noticed the strained face of Aizawa as he forced his quirk to activated before the monster—the nomu or whatever—smashed his face back into the ground.

"That was all well and good, but I still need to make a show of you brats." The villain had removed their hand from Tsuyu's face and held it out in front of them tauntingly. "Now now, which one of you should I choose?"

It just _had_ to be his quirk—his curse—because the next thing he knew he saw the hand coming for his face. He didn't have time to move, didn't have time to think before he felt the smallest prick on his cheek.

It stung, gradually burning worse until he felt the blood trickling down his cheek. The numb sensation ebbed away to a slow burn. It was agonizing, his skin cracked and blistered in seconds. This was it, he knew that. The villain had them in his grasp, but Izuku refused to just… die. Purely on instinct, he pushed away from the villain, earning a stabbing pain in his side, but the instant relief he felt in his face proved that it was the right idea.

"Now that wasn't very nice of you… I guess I'll just have to murder your friends here instead." The villain's hand went towards Mineta.

Both Tsuyu and Mineta were trapped, the villain was too close to them for them to try and escape, but Izuku wouldn't, _wouldn't_ let them die. He lurched forward at the same instant that the villain muttered something.

He closed his fist and focused all his power into it. His limbs be damned, he wasn't about to let a classmate die because of him. He felt the power surging through him, but it wasn't… hurting him—that wasn't to say it didn't hurt at all, because he couldn't help the twinge of discomfort roll through his shoulder, but it was miles better than his bones breaking. It was still that same fire through his veins, but there was no crumbling feeling that accompanied it, signaling the end of his bones.

 _I might actually land a punch without breaking my hand!_

His fist landed, but instead of the satisfying feeling of impacting something and destroying it, it felt like he hit a wall. He looked up and noticed that the monster had come forward and blocked him from hitting the villain.

 _When did-when did that monster get here? He was just over there a second ago._ Izuku's eye's drifted over to where the monster had been and saw Aizawa lying pitifully on the ground, moving very faintly.

His eyes didn't get to linger much longer as the monster had grabbed his fist, which was still up against its stomach, and threw him like a ragdoll.

He hit a wall.

 _Hard_.

And fell limply on the ground.

Everything hurt, his bones felt shattered, though he knew they were all intact. To his horror, he saw the monster grab Mineta.

He gulped, hoping the monster would just throw him as it had done to himself, and be done with him and leave them alone, but much to his ire, the monster did no such thing.

He willed his body to move, to get up, to help, but it simply lay there limply, not moving at all. He wanted to reach out, help his classmate, but couldn't. His body wasn't responding to him.

The monster, the… thing, held Mineta above him—in that instant Izuku wasn't seeing a monster attack his classmate, he wasn't even at the USJ, he was back at that day. There was no monster, only a building, collapsing… because of him.

Mineta was flung through the air, slamming into the ground like a dead weight—it wasn't Mineta lying unmoving on the ground now, it was a little girl, no older than ten, with an innocent smile and fear wrapped around her eyes as she bled out, support beams crushing her small figure.

Right now he wasn't seeing a villain attacking them, using Mineta as a plaything, no, he was back at that time, when his quirk _ruined_ everything.

It was his fault then, it was _his fault_ now.

 _It was always his fault._

He had to look away, closed his eyes even, not able to stomach his lunch any more as he heard bones crunch and an ear-splitting screech.

This was all too real; he hoped beyond hope that this was just a nightmare, but when he opened his eyes and looked ahead of him, he knew it wasn't.

Mineta lay on the ground, unmoving, not breathing, utterly dead to the world.

* * *

AN: :)  
until next time,

Vera~


	8. The Thing

AN: You know, I was afraid this chapter wouldn't be long enough,,, and it ended up being longer than chapter seven, so how about that... well, this chapter is a rollercoaster, for better or for worse, so enjoy the ride. :D

* * *

"You gotta be fuckin' kidding."

* * *

It happened slowly, and all at once. Time slowed for Izuku; he could see everything in painstaking clarity, but his reactions were put on pause. Even the pain that had been thrashing through him nulled to a numb, pulsating throb.

Izuku cursed his mind for working faster than his body. It made everything so much worse.

Izuku hadn't been fast enough though; his body hadn't obeyed his commands. That thing had crushed his classmate like a bug. He had watched in mute horror as a classmate was murdered. He hadn't—couldn't—stop it.

 _Izuku's scream rang out clearly through the entirety of the USJ._

It was with bitter clarity that Izuku realized the reality of his classmates' lives right now. They were aspiring heroes; they were preparing to fight villains like this—they all knew that. However, it had been foolish of them to think that because they were children they would be given a grace period before facing these foes.

Heroes died in battle gloriously, or so he had thought. It came as a daunting realization that this was not the case. No matter how strong, or valiant, a hero was, when they died it wasn't glorious, or admirable. It was horrifying. An awful, morose stagnation took over his thoughts. There was nothing glorious about death. It was tragic and reminded one just how fragile life was.

Mineta had been terrified. His fearful features had been etched permanently in Izuku's mind. He would never unsee that horror; he would never not see those fear-filled eyes glaze over as the life drained from them.

Izuku had never really thought highly of Mineta. He was creepy, made lewd comments about the girls in their class, and never really appeared to be trying. It was like he didn't care about being a hero. Even earlier today, Izuku could clearly remember how he squirmed in fear as he and Tsuyu tried to come up with a strategy to get past the villains.

Nothing about Mineta screamed _hero_ , but even so… _he didn't deserve to die._

It ended as quickly as it began. Mineta lay motionless on the pavement beside that… that thing. Blood was smeared over its face, marring the beak-like appendage with scarlet.

From his spot on the ground, back against a wall, he saw Tsuyu, still frozen in the water. He wondered absently if she was okay. He knew he sure wasn't.

 _This was all his fault. It had to be. His quirk—no, his curse—had caused this. There wasn't any other explanation. This was the absolute worst luck one could have, it just had to be because of him. Mineta had been right in accusing him of causing this… just look what happened. His classmates were all struggling to fight these villains, Aizawa looked… broken, Izuku himself was injured quite a bit, and Mineta… Mineta wasn't moving. Mineta was dead._

None of that mattered, they were still in danger. It didn't matter how messed up this was going to make him later, because right now, _right now,_ he needed to be okay enough to fight… to survive.

* * *

Tenya was running. He had but one goal in mind: find help.

He hoped his classmates could last long enough for him to find a teacher. _Of course they would_ , he reasoned, _They were class 1-A_. They would be fine. He couldn't afford to think otherwise.

It was a still a bit surprising how easy it had been to get past the villain and out the doors; it didn't really matter _how_ he had managed to get past the villain though, because, in the end, he _had_ managed to escape. Now, all that mattered was finding help and stopping the villains.

So, Tenya ran. He ran as fast as his quirk would allow and raced to find a source of help.

As he rounded a corner, he quite literally bumped into that help.

"All Might!?" There really wasn't any time for pleasantries. Though it was crass of him, he ended up commanding the pro hero, "There's no time, we must leave now. Villains. We can't waste anymore time."

All Might stood there, shocked, though it wasn't obvious in his features, "Young Iida, what is going on?"

"We simply don't have time right now All Might, I mean no disrespect, but I don't have time to explain everything. Villains are attacking USJ right now—"

That got All Might's attention. "Then what are we waiting for! Young Iida, go back to the school, get as many pros to help as you can. I will go on ahead."

All Might didn't wait for him to respond, before he took off in the direction Tenya had just come from.

* * *

Izuku couldn't bear to so much to even look in Mineta's direction. It was an ugly reminder of his failure, and that thought speared through his skull with harrowing clarity.

The monster, whatever that villain had called it… that _thing_ was horrendous. The sleek black mass of muscle with an exposed brain acted as though it were an animal obeying its master. Only, instead of doing tricks for treats, it was playing with people like they were toys, throwing them around and smashing them into the ground as though they were nothing. It had already _killed_ someone… Mineta hadn't so much as twitched from his spot on the ground.

The villains watched the carnage they wrought with mild interest. The Thing's rampage was but a moderately intriguing show to them.

It was sickening, but really, what could _he_ do?

The only thing Izuku thought he could do was make everything _worse._ For the longest time, Izuku had always thought his quirk was a curse, but he was wrong.

Izuku's quirk wasn't the curse… _Izuku was._

The thought struck him hard, causing him to physically blanch at the realization, but the more he thought about it, the clearer it rang in his head.

It had to be his fault, it always was.

Bakugo had been right, he knew that—had always known that subconsciously—because if it weren't for him… then Mineta may still be alive. If it wasn't for him… that little girl from all those years ago… she _would still be alive._

A jagged scar didn't seem like enough of a punishment for what had happened back then.

He hadn't meant it, he never did, but it _had_ happened, and only because he had been there.

A rock was thrown from the thing, landing near his person and shaking him back to reality. Now wasn't the time to dwell on such things, people were still in danger. He could blame himself later, but right now… right now villains were attacking them, and cursed or not, _he didn't want to see anyone else get hurt if he could help it._

The only problem lied in the fact that moving hurt… a lot. His entire body ached from being slammed into the wall, and his shoulder was starting to burn more and more, but the worst injury was still the bite on his chest. It was still bleeding profusely, staining Mineta's scarf a dark red. He wouldn't last much longer before blood loss overtook him.

It ached dully, a throb that pulsated in his stomach, but he was pretty sure shock and adrenaline were doing a great job keeping the worst of the pain away.

The situation wasn't looking great, if Izuku were being honest. Aizawa was barely moving, having been repeatedly smashed into the ground seemed to have drained the fight from him, but still, he struggled. Despite the situation, Izuku couldn't help but be awed at the prowess of his teacher.

The villains didn't have any enemies at the moment… they had utterly overpowered everyone in the central part of the USJ. Izuku hoped everyone else was fairing better than they were, because if not… then they might all die.

Izuku tried to move, but had to stifle a cry as he jostled the shoulder that had been impaled and dislocated earlier—there was some underlying damage from that attack that he had conveniently neglected to deal with (it hadn't seemed nearly as important in the scheme of things).

His only saving grace, if it could be called that, was the fact that since he hadn't been able to move much, that _thing_ had left him alone and gone back to its master. They weren't making any moves. Izuku thought it was pretty odd.

Perhaps it was their nonchalance that made the sudden appearance of that black mist villain all the more disturbing.

 _If that villain is here then that means… are they okay? They have to be okay, they have to be._

Something tugged at his chest painfully at the thought of his classmates, and his friends, being injured because of this. He would never forgive himself if they were injured here too.

They had accepted him for who he was, even when he was cursed, they refused to see it that way… they had believed him in. _They shouldn't have, but they did._

They weren't obligated to be his friends, but they were.

He remembered the charm Uraraka had given him… Quickly, straining his arms, he searched his person for the charm desperately, beyond thankful to feel the rough fabric against his skin. It had to have been nothing short of a miracle that he hadn't lost it. The irony of that was not lost on him.

It was stupid, to have been so concerned over something so mundane at a moment like this, but he couldn't help it. It meant a lot to him, and he had _just_ got it. He didn't want to lose it.

It may not have been a great _good luck_ charm, but the fact that a friend had made it for him meant that it quickly became one of the most precious items he owned. Maybe it was stupid, but he wanted to protect it… his good luck charm.

Something swirled around him, an abstract feeling. It was his quirk, but it felt… different. It was lighter than the bad luck's presence was. It almost felt… hopeful. He felt it resonate within the charm before dissipating. It was odd, but he couldn't help but feel as though he had actually done… something.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of a villain, voice proper and terse.

"Unfortunately, they were able to slip by me. It's only a matter of time before backup arrives," the black mist villain said.

This caught Izuku's attention. That meant… help was coming.

"Ah well," the other villain, possibly the leader, muttered out, "I was hoping to crush All Might, but if back up is coming then… I suppose there is no point. As much as I would love to see his face when he realizes I _killed_ one of his precious students, we should probably be leaving. Although," Izuku saw his gaze linger on Aizawa's unmoving figure, "killing a kid is a blow, but killing a kid _and_ a pro, now that sends a message."

 _They were going to kill Aizawa._

They were going to kill his teacher, right here, right now.

This couldn't be happening.

Air stopped flowing to his lungs, and he choked, trying to take in too much, too fast. Breathing didn't get any easier as something cold and dark settled in his stomach. He was practically gasping for breath now, trying, in vain, to take a deep breath and calm himself.

 _This is all my fault, I can't,_ _I can't_ _let them hurt Aizawa any more._

 _No. I won't let it. I couldn't save that girl back then… and I couldn't save Mineta just now, I_ _won't_ _let anyone else die! Not because of me._

Somehow, on shaky legs, Izuku was able to stand. Everything hurt, but it was all muted by the urge to protect everyone.

The villain was sauntering, as if they had all the time in the world, towards where Aizawa lay. He was battered and bruised, but very much alive. He couldn't move, but he had already activated his quirk, clearly not underestimating the villain at all.

Izuku persisted, staggering forward, an odd limp in his gait, though he wasn't sure why. A heaviness was encroaching on his chest. His vision was already blurring, and he wasn't sure how much longer his consciousness would stay with him.

Still though…

One death was already too much.

Heroes lived, and they died, it was common, and a life he would have to get used to, but as long as there were people within his grasp, he was going to do everything in his power to help them. _.._

 _He was going to help people, save them._

"Get away from him."

It wasn't anything more than a whisper, but the mere resolve set in it resounded firmly within the building.

The villain stopped short and regarded him with a feral smile.

He noticed an ounce of fear in his teacher's gaze as well as he ordered him to leave. "Midoriya, get out of here! You can't fight him!"

Izuku just shook his head, having to stop and blink away the fuzziness that was blurring his vision. "I can't." It came out strangely, and broken, but determined nonetheless.

"I'm not asking. This is an order, Midoriya, do not engage."

Was that… fear he heard in his teacher's tone? Or maybe panic? A mixture of both possibly… his mind was too muddled to think clearly.

Still, he knew he couldn't leave. Not while Aizawa was in danger. It didn't matter if he was able to stop the villain or defeat him, because as long as he was standing, he wasn't going to let anyone else die.

"You better listen to your teacher... Midoriya," the villain teased. "You're not going to want to watch as I decay him into nothing."

Izuku _hated_ the way the villain said his name, it felt like he was mocking him, which he was definitely doing.

Izuku could clearly remember the feeling of his skin… just fading away, being peeled back, layer by layer. The villain was going to do that to Aizawa… until there was nothing left.

He shuddered at the thought.

"It's not… It's not that simple." He gave his teacher a look, something akin to a resigned determination. "I know I can't beat you… Your quirk is strong and I'm… weak, but I can't do _nothing._ I won't let you kill anyone else."

He took up a defensive stance.

The villain stood leisurely, clearly amused by him, but not threatened. "Oh? And what do you think you can do, kid? We've already proved we're stronger than everyone here, just look around you!" He gestured wildly. "The heroes are defeated, and all that's left is you measly kids. You think you can take us down?"

Again, Izuku shook his head, the throbbing only intensifying as he did so. "It's not about whether or not I can defeat you. Even if you can kill me easily, I can't just stand back and let you hurt people without doing _something_ … I'm a—" he stopped.

 _You're not a hero, you're a curse._

Could he really say he was a hero? Even after all the carnage he'd caused? That… no, he couldn't.

"What's this? Cat got your tongue? Or have you realized how dire the situation really is? It's game over for you. You're luck's all gone."

Izuku stifled a breath at that.

Of course, the villain just had to bring up luck. The bane of his existence. He couldn't help but let out an airy laugh, something that bordered haughty and maniacal. Once he was in a better state of mind, he might blame it on the delirious state he had been in: about to collapse, with the only thing keeping him standing being the adrenaline that was coursing through his veins.

The villain didn't seem amused by his theatrics at all, only annoyed. "I don't have time for this, Nomu," he glanced at the monstrous looking creature, "kill him."

This was not good.

Izuku saw Aizawa struggling to get up and noticed his arm… it had been stripped of skin… He could feel his own skin trembling, cowering before the monster as it stalked closer to him.

This was it… that thing was going to kill him. Aizawa was using his quirk, but with him as incapacitated as he was—

The monster, the nomu, was towering before him, but standing in between him and the monster was Aizawa. Just like Izuku had done before, Aizawa had forced himself up and took on a defensive stance, though he looked shaky on his feet, he didn't budge.

"Midoriya, this is an order, get out of here." Aizawa seethed.

Izuku knew he was just getting in the way now… but his legs wouldn't move. Nothing would, he was frozen, paralyzed in place.

Aizawa was barely standing, he looked even worse than Izuku felt. He wasn't even paying Izuku any mind, besides his command to stand down, all his attention was focused on the nomu before them.

Right now, Aizawa was doing everything in his power to protect his students.

 _There has to be something I can do. I can't just be useless forever… I make everything worse… but… still. Uraraka and Iida, they believed in me! They said I could help…_

His eyes lit up, and a thought began to form in his mind. He wasn't sure if it would work… but… just maybe, maybe it would.

Izuku's quirk was a curse.

It was a fact he had learned a long time ago, but had never really accepted until now. Seeing the damage it could cause… when he _wasn't_ even consciously using it proved as much. His curse was dangerous, not just for him but for everyone, and yet… he refused to let that knowledge defeat him.

The memory of what had happened not but five minutes prior… back when he had inadvertently activated his quirk. Its presence still lingered faintly, the soft glow that gave him a confidence he hadn't had before… it resonated from the little charm he had gotten from Uraraka… almost like a… talisman. Like it had been blessed?

It struck up a thought in Izuku.

Defiance burned brightly in green eyes, an edge forming in his posture as he stood up straighter. This time… This time… he would control it. There wasn't time to despair over his daunting circumstances, that would have to wait until death _wasn't_ knocking at his front door…

A dark aura surrounded him. It reminded him of that time… back when he had first seen the physical manifestation of his quirk, only this time, he was aware it was his doing.

He could feel the ominous presence lashing about around him, a dark cloud that was as immaterial as it was intense. It was powerful, holding all the outcomes of chance within it; he held every outcome within his grasps, and he could feel it.

This power… his quirk, it didn't feel like a burden; right now, it felt like an ally.

It was still a curse, that much he knew, but right now, it was a curse that _he_ controlled. He wasn't at its mercy right now, instead, he held the reigns.

It was an overwhelming sense, and unexpected. He'd never felt this kind of charge over his quirk before. It was like surfing through the tunnel of a wave, he could see the end clearly, but at the same time, the water was bearing down on him incessantly from behind. He was going to ride it out as long as he could.

The entire area felt different, and everyone could feel it.

There was a shift in the air and even the nomu had stopped in its advance.

Aizawa still stood on edge, but he was no longer wielding his quirk. Instead, he had his capture weapon ready.

The atmosphere was tense.

No one was willing to move.

The was a loud banging sound that came from the entrance, it resonated clearly throughout the USJ.

"I AM HERE!"

Izuku let out a breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding.

Help had arrived.

* * *

As soon as Iida had left, the black, mist-like villain had turned its attention back on them. Ochako was scared out of her mind. She wasn't prepared for this. None of them were… This was crazy.

It was madness.

They were supposed to learning about how to rescue people… but not like this. It should have been from natural disasters, but instead, it looked as though they had to rescue themselves from the clutches of villains. It was actually kind of surreal.

Even No. 13, a pro-hero, hadn't been able to stand against the villain. They had been injured… how severely, Ochako didn't know, but they were down for the count.

The villain, whose attention _had_ been on them, just suddenly… vanished. Left them alone, and Ochako couldn't help but feel relieved by that. It meant they were safe, but now, she was worried about all her classmates who had been warped away.

Deku had been one of those classmates. She wondered if he was okay.

 _He'll be fine! He's super strong._

 _But his quirk… it's bad luck, what if… what if…_

 _No! Deku will be fine!_

Ochako was pulled from her thoughts by one of her classmates—she thought his name might be Sero.

"What… what is this feeling? It's like suddenly everything is darker and… cloudy, but not."

At that, Ochako looked around her. She could feel it too. It wasn't necessarily visible, but there was a sleek film of black smoke that filled the air—much different from the villain's black smoke. It was like a palpable sensation, like seeing a flavor, or smelling a color, something that shouldn't make sense, but in some odd way, it did.

She couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Whatever it was, it wasn't comforting.

Then, the doors had opened, and All Might had appeared. The atmosphere was still stiff and nefarious, but now help had arrived. Even with an awful atmosphere permeating the air, once All Might arrived, a sense of hope began to break through the gloom.

All Might didn't look as heroic as he usually did, he looked… _angry._

"Tell me, where is the danger." His voice was steady, but there was a treacherous edge to it.

Ochako was trembling, the ominous aura had only intensified when All MIght showed up, "Over there... By the lobby, I think… There were so many villains!"

All Might didn't even spare her a second glance as he looked up and headed straight into the fray.

* * *

Katsuki stifled an irritated growl as yet another villain lay unconscious. "These are all B-rate villains. Give me a challenge."

"Yeah, these guys weren't anything special," Kirishima noted, bracing himself for any more attacks, though none came. They had defeated all the villains surrounding them.

They had been transported to an abandoned building on the verge of collapse. Of course, part of its decay was due to the force of his explosions, there wasn't much he could do about that. Villains _had_ attacked him, he was just defending himself.

"Come on, we should go see if the others are okay," Kirishima said.

Katsuki just rolled his eyes, "If you want to go, go by yourself. I just want to murder that fucking warp villain."

"Dude, you can't just say things like that. It's totally unmanly, besides, physical attacks don't work on that guy—"

"I didn't ask for your stupid opinion, Shitty Hair. That guy's their gateway, without him they can't leave so there's no way I'm going to let him go scot free. He's got to have some weakness."

"You don't actually think it'll be that easy do you?"

Katsuki was getting annoyed by all these petty questions. "It doesn't matter, I'm gonna beat him up whether he's strong or not, and if he's anything like the lackeys," he turned around, grabbed a villain who had been trying to sneak up on him, and smashed them into the side of the wall, "then I doubt that'll be much of a problem."

Kirishima nodded, then stopped as something heavy filled the air around them. "What-what's with this atmosphere?"

Katsuki froze, going stalk still as the heaviness permeated the area; he knew what this was, and he didn't like it. He'd felt it before… once. He shivered at the memory.

"Woah, what's gotten into you, Bakugo? You almost look—" Kirishima was cut off when Katsuki shook his head vehemently.

"Nothing, Shitty Hair. I'm fine," he bit back just a little too quickly. He was fine, really, he was. He was just… taken by surprise. Yeah, surprise.

This feeling, this sensation, it was familiar. He'd felt it before. A long time ago… with… with Deku.

The lingering atmosphere was just like that time. A thrill of fear spiked through him. The air, this feeling, it was a bad omen, a _cursed_ aura.

Just what the hell was Deku doing? Did he plan to take the whole building down? Katsuki frantically looked around, noting that the infrastructure was still intact.

He still didn't like it. That time… back then… what Deku's quirk had done was insane, absurd even, but mostly it had been _deadly._

Then, out of the thickness came a crescendo of sound as a resounding voice boomed.

It was All Might.

He had shown up. Katsuki knew they weren't in danger any longer, but still, he couldn't help but think about Deku's quirk… a lot of damage could still be done.

* * *

Shouto didn't understand what these villains wanted. None of them had even been worthwhile to face; they were more like villain wannabes. Still, for someone of lesser caliber, they may pose a threat.

He wondered, briefly, where everyone else was.

The entire atmosphere in the USJ had changed. It was deathly silent now, everything felt muted somehow.

Shouto wasn't too keen on the implications of that.

Something ominous shifted through the air, something dark. He turned his head; Shouto couldn't help but shiver subconsciously.

A dark aura saturated the air in a sickly manner, pervading his senses and filling him with some unbeknownst dread.

From afar, as he was sure everyone else had heard, came the voice of All Might. Shouto felt a little better at hearing the voice, it meant the pro's had arrived, and this would all get sorted out, but still… he couldn't help but hold some reservations at the awful feeling that persisted in the wake of the pro's arrival.

It was looming over them, and Shouto knew the heroes wouldn't be able to stop it when it decided to strike.

* * *

Right now, they were at a standstill. Izuku knew it was because All Might had shown up. No one dared to move.

That was until the villain laughed, an evil cackle that was maniacal in nature. "And here I thought he wouldn't show up!"

Izuku couldn't help but be relieved… he wasn't sure how long they would have lasted against that monster thing, the nomu or whatever. It could easily rip them to pieces… _it had already proved that much._

In front of him, Izuku saw Aizawa sigh, most likely in relief that there was back up. He looked about ready to collapse.

Izuku was ready to collapse, but even if he wanted to, something stopped him. They were still in danger, even if All MIght had arrived. "All Might! That monster wasn't affected at all by my attack," he tried to warn him.

All Might wasn't smiling… he wasn't even grinning, his face had only one emotion on it: rage.

"Do not fear, for I am here." It wasn't shouted out, instead stated with a finality that had even Izuku on edge.

"About time you showed up," Aizawa muttered, before falling to his knees. It looked as though he was at his limit.

It was so fast, the way All Might rushed past him and grabbed Aizawa, and brought him to a safer place. "I'm sorry for the wait. Midoriya my boy… take Aizawa and everyone else and leave—"

It was then that All Might must have noticed Mineta, off in the corner… unmoving.

Rage wouldn't be an adequate term to define the sheer anger that radiated off of All Might as he realized just what the villains had done.

It happened quickly. Even the villain didn't have to time to react as All Might rushed forward—the only one who had time to react was the monster thing. It was right there to meet All Might as he readied a fist for the villains.

The nomu absorbed his fist without so much as flinching. "How dare you—"

He was cut off by the hand villain, who still looked completely amused at the turn of events. "How dare we? We're the villains, it's what we do. You know what… you can blame us all you want, but _where were you?_ Where were you as my Nomu _killed_ that kid?"

At that, All Might stayed quiet.

The villain laughed, and his Nomu attacked.

"Midoriya," Izuku's attention was pulled from the fight by the voice of Tsuyu. She had been hiding in the water, but it seemed as though she had snuck away. "We should go... We're only hindering All Might by being here…"

Silently, Izuku nodded, he agreed, but still… the thought of leaving when people were still in danger… but then, Aizawa was unconscious now, his injuries had taken claim of him.

Lugging Aizawa's body to the stairs wasn't something Izuku was capable of at the moment. Between his own injuries and the blood loss, he just didn't have the strength, as it was he could barely stand. Tsuyu wasn't injured nearly as much as him though, with only a cut on her tongue, so she took to dragging his body, to the stairs. Before they could actually leave the area, Izuku stopped. _He couldn't leave yet._

Izuku was exhausted, and he felt as though he could pass out at any moment… but he couldn't. Not yet.

He still had control over his bad luck, he could feel it in the air. Someway, somehow, _he was going to help people._ Maybe he wasn't a hero… and couldn't be one ever. Hell, maybe he really _was_ cursed, it sure seemed like it, but still, he just wanted to help people.

"Tsuyu… can… can you take Aizawa… I— there's something I need to do still." He knew it was incredibly selfish, he did and he didn't want to leave her alone to defend Aizawa. He just had a gut feeling, a bad omen almost, that told him he should go back and help…

She regarded him cautiously, but thought better of arguing with him over it. "Be careful, Midoriya."

He nodded before turning back, his own injuries screaming in protest. _Just a little longer… then, then I can rest for however long._

All Might was still fighting Nomu. Izuku wanted to help him, but he didn't know how… he wasn't confident enough in either of his quirks to try and do a pinpointed attack… but there was something he could try… just not on Nomu. It would be too risky.

Instead, he focused his attention on the other villain, feeling the power behind his quirk as it manifested in the air, an unearthly, almost supernatural mien of bad luck.

Unfortunately—because of course even if he had control of his quirk right now, it didn't stop some bad luck from leaking out and affecting himself—the villain leader noticed him.

He also seemed to notice the tense air around them, which at this point wasn't that surprising, it was quite obvious _something_ was going on.

It was daunting, but not horrifying, more like intimidating, wielding this power…

The villain leader eyed him warily, cautious of what his quirk could do, "You. This is your doing?" He gestured wildly around him, at the air itself.

Izuku knew it wasn't really a question, more of an accusation, but the inflection left much to be desired. So, stiffly, because Izuku would never trust a villain, he nodded.

"What is it?" the villain hissed.

"My quirk." He smiled faintly, but it soon turned into something more sorrowful. "It's more of a curse actually…"

The villain sneered at him, "Don't beat around the bush… what are you doing?" He gazed above him, at the sky to see an ominous cloud of black mist that was so thin he had to struggle to even see it. It simmered in the air, reflecting light and concealing itself.

"What, that? You think that's me?" He was just teasing him now, which wasn't smart, but he wasn't really thinking all that clearly at the moment. "I'm just a cursed kid… not fit to be a hero," he bit out the last part, "but—" he let the shift in his words take hold before continuing, "one man's curse is another man's fortune, so if I'm to be a curse, maybe I should be _your_ curse..." He let the grin he wore speak for itself.

The villain looked confused more than anything… he obviously wasn't picking up what Izuku was putting down.

Izuku smirked, "Look, what my quirk is doesn't matter… like I'd ever tell a villain like you anyway, but… you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?" He didn't even care if the reference was lost on everyone here, it was still satisfying to say.

He wasn't sure how he knew he was capable of doing this, but he knew it would work. It wasn't pinpoint, but it didn't have to be either, all he needed was to direct his quirk to the villain and hold it there… make it stay, lock on to him… _and curse him._

A miasmic power… luck may not have a lot to do with becoming a hero, or being a villain… but if his power was to manipulate it, then he was going to make the most of it.

The mist of black swirled dangerously, a potent aura spilling from it before it descended all at once. It was like glass falling, shimmering in the light, but otherwise invisible.

It struck like lightning, an instantaneous burst of power that disappeared as quickly as it landed… He _really hoped_ this had worked. _Let's see how you like being cursed._

The effects were almost instantaneous. It was like a ripple had fanned out, emanating the bad luck in a directed fashion… it discriminated against friends and foes, almost as if it were sentient.

All Might threw one final punch at Nomu, and it went flying, not able to withstand his attacks any longer. That earned a sigh of relief from Izuku because it meant the biggest danger was out of the way.

Then, he heard people, lots of people. They were the pros, they had to be, because they had already gone on the offensive and attacked. Snipe was among them, Izuku noted, as he saw the villain get shot by him. The villain stumbled back as a bullet lodged in his shoulder.

Izuku puffed out his chest. Help had arrived, they were in the clear now. "It looks like your _luck_ has just run out." He took a confident step forward, which ended up being a mistake as he tripped over his own feet and crashed face-first into the ground.

He didn't even bother trying to get up, he was too exhausted, and his injuries refused to let him continue any further. His eyes fluttered, and he fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

Villains had attacked the USJ, and Toshinori hadn't been able to be there. If anything happened to anyone, he would never forgive himself… he was supposed to be there. He was supposed to have accompanied them, but he had reached his limit earlier that day fighting petty crimes.

Still, he hadn't thought villains would attack.

Something sinister filled the air when he made it to the USJ. It was thick in the atmosphere, the ominous air shifting with the wind and caressing the sky. He knew nothing good could come from it.

The scene he had been met with was not one he would soon forget.

No. 13 had been incapacitated, on the floor, suit ruined and unmoving. He had been told that the villains were in the main lobby of the USJ, and he wasted no time getting there.

Eraserhead hadn't been in much better condition than No. 13, the only consolation had been the fact that he was still conscious, though barely. And young Midoriya… he… he was barely upright. There was… he had something wrapped around his torso, a dark liquid staining the once yellow fabric—Toshinori realized it was a makeshift tourniquet.

Fury took ahold of him.

And then… he saw a student, he didn't remember their name, which made it ten times worse, lying, motionless on the ground, blood had pooled around them.

Their chest wasn't moving. At all. They never flinched, nor gave any sort of indication that they were alive… which meant… it was a possibility…

 _The villains had killed one of his students._

The villain had mocked him too, telling him it was his fault because he hadn't been there to stop them, and Toshinori knew he was right. He hadn't been there when he should have and now this happened. It was his fault, and he'd never forget that; he'd never let himself forget it.

Red covered everything, and he rushed the villain, determined to make them pay for their deeds. It only served to anger him more when that monster blocked his path. He would make quick work of it…

His punch didn't so much as even make it flinch.

 _I don't have time for a drawn-out fight with this thing…the people here need me to save them._

He didn't have a choice though, the monster wasn't letting him get to the leader. He would have to defeat the monster before he could put a stop to the villain's heinous acts.

There was something different about the aura here though, something that drew him in, only to push him back out when he got close. It was dark, ominous… it was cold and hard, settling deep within his chest, heavy and filling.

It made fighting the monster—the villain had called it Nomu—difficult. He felt like everything was going against him, like every step he took was the wrong one. It wasn't a tangible thing, he couldn't see it, he couldn't even really feel it. When he tried to sense it, it flitted away from him like something in his peripheral vision. He was aware of it, it settled in deeply into the surrounding air, but it was just a sense. A gut feeling that was so real, he was sure it was corporeal.

It was then, in the midst of their battle, that Toshinori heard Midoriya talking. He was addressing the villain…

"I'm just a cursed kid… not fit to be a hero." It was said bitterly, resigned, and it left little doubt in Toshinori that Midoriya meant every word he said.

 _No, kid… don't-don't say that._

Midoriya thought he was a curse? Toshinori knew he had self-esteem issues, it was rather obvious considering what his quirk was, and what it did… but he _thought he_ _was_ _a curse. Not cursed, he didn't say he was cursed, he said he was a curse. He didn't think there was something wrong_ _with_ _him, he thought he was the problem._

The thought struck Toshinori hard. He couldn't stand it. It burned.

Something hit then, it wasn't wholly discernable in the haze that swallowed the USJ, but it was there. It felt like a quirk… almost.

Nevermind that, he didn't have to focus on that, he needed to finish his fight with the nomu, and fast, he was running out of time.

He could feel it, he wouldn't last much longer in this form. The nomu hadn't been budging from his attacks though, and he had been giving it his all. The nomu looked at him oddly… a foreboding sense overwashed Toshinori as he put everything he had into this one last attack.

Something was off, his punch hadn't felt right… it had felt… almost too rejuvenated, too fresh. It wasn't the punch of a man gone past his limit, but one of someone who had no limit.

That thing, the nomu or whatever, took the hit hard. It wasn't out, but unlike before, that hit had struck it harder than before.

It stumbled back… and fell… Toshinori wasn't going to question it, no matter how ridiculous it was, but that nomu had actually tripped and fell over… over some ill placed rubble.

The nomu was just as dumbstruck as him, if it that was even possible. He wasn't sure how cognitive that creature was, but it looked to be at least mildly confused by the predicament.

Toshinori took the initiative; he didn't give it a chance to recover before he sent another smash its way, putting everything he had into it. He couldn't afford to do this song and dance with the creature any longer.

The nomu went flying… and to be honest, it felt underwhelming. It didn't matter what kind of whelming it was though, that didn't matter. All that mattered was protecting everyone.

Toshinori looked around and saw Midoriya still at a standoff with the villain. Before he could even blink, the doors burst open, and a hoard of pros, led by Iida, arrived.

The main villain, the leader, was shot. Midoriya said something about the villain's luck running out (Toshinori would be lying if he said it wasn't a good one-liner, especially considering Midoriya's quirk), before tripping and falling unconscious.

The villains started to retreat, but were cut off by the pros. Everything was going a little too smoothly… it truly felt as though luck were on their side right now, as if everything they planned would just work out perfectly.

He was exhausted, having gone beyond his limit, but he could still help. He would help, it was the least he could do after he had shirked his responsibilities. No matter how exhausted he was, he would stay in his hero form for as long as he needed to.

The villain, the one who had been taunting them, he was still here, and Toshinori wasn't going to let him escape, not after all he had done. Black smoke rose around them, and Toshinori noted how some of the villains were able to run through it as though it were a gate.

So that was their escape route.

Toshinori refused to just _let the villains get away_ though, not after what they had done. Someone needed to pay.

Fortunately, the main villain was still there, he had been shot, but was otherwise okay. He hadn't left yet—they could still detain him. Toshinori was the closest one to him, with the other pro's still up in the upper lobby. He seized his chance, lunging toward the villain.

The villain startled as he realized that he was running out of time.

"I suppose this is game over… for now," he jeered, about to step into the gate. Before he could though, he stumbled.

It was almost comical, and it reminded Toshinori of how Izuku would trip over nothing sometimes… it was uncanny. It was a stroke of luck, it almost _had_ to be, with the craziness of the situation.

That small slip up, whether from luck or not, gave him the edge to keep the villain from escaping.

The villains red eyes went wide at the realization that his fumble had cost him precious time as Toshinori barreled towards him. Before the villain could gather his bearings, Toshinori tackled him, pinning him to the ground. Toshinori saw a hatred fester in those red eyes, a seething lividness that refused to be quelled.

"You're right, it is game over, for you. Your days of evil-doing are over, villain!" Toshinori boomed proudly.

He found it odd though, how the gate villain stood there, not doing anything, but didn't dwell on it. The pros' were sure to take care of him.

"We'll see," the villain fumed, "Kurogiri, go now. We'll reconvene later." It was said in a knowing tone, not a trace of doubt.

A shiver crawled up Toshinori's back.

It was all over now though. He had the villain's leader captured, and there were plenty of other pros' here to take care of the other villains.

He kept the villain pinned and unable to move, not risking anything. He didn't know the villain's quirk, and he didn't want to let the villain have an opportunity to escape. He waited until the police intervened and put quirk-suppressing cuffs on the villain before he gave any leeway for the villain to move.

The villain thrashed about incessantly as he was taken up the plaza and out of the USJ, though some ridiculous happenstance thwarted every attempt to escape. It was almost amusing, if he didn't know any better he would say that the villain was cursed.

Although… he found it more than a little unnerving how the villain's eyes were trained on Midoriya even as the cops transported him out of the building. There was evilness laiden in those eyes, and Toshinori knew better than to think it was going to be easy to keep that villain jailed.

* * *

After the villains had been taken away, save for the gate villain and a few stragglers that had managed to get away, Toshinori brought his focus back to those who were injured.

He made his way down to the plaza, where the medics had already began to check the injured. There were several people surrounding Asui and Aizawa. Midoriya was surrounded by several as well, something that both concerned and relieved Toshinori. The worst sight, however, was still over on the side, closer to the pool area. Blood stained the walls in a mosaic of red. Mineta—that was his name—hadn't moved… and though he still held some vain hope, they all knew that he was dead.

Recovery Girl came and inspected the young boy, Mineta. There were a few whispers here and there from students who had lingered to take a closer look and some pros who hadn't seen the boy before. No one had their hopes up as she checked his vitals, but it still fell gravely silent as she shook her head.

It was their worst nightmare come to fruition. A child had died, been murdered. They couldn't sulk forever, but this was… this would take a while to get over. And they would no doubt face repercussions for this incident, though, the blows they would take might be softened by the fact that they had managed to catch the mastermind behind this incident.

Two gurney's had been brought out for Eraserhead and Midoriya, who were both unconscious. A third, separate gurney had been used to take the body of Mineta Minoru. It had been a quiet affair, no one wanting to fill the silence with noise. They may have captured the villain, but this wasn't a success.

No one else sustained any major injuries, a few scrapes, and bruises, but nothing significant.

Had he just been here like he was supposed to be… maybe this wouldn't have happened.

Toshinori couldn't help but blame himself for this entire ordeal.

* * *

Everything felt weird.

Izuku wasn't in pain, not really, but there was a dull throb that ached throughout him. He could tell that something was muting the pain right now, forcing him into a numbed relaxation.

It smelled clean, like antiseptic… like some kind of hospital maybe?

Why would it smell like a hospital? Where was he? And why was he here… wherever here was?

It was oddly quiet, only the lone sound of something beeping rhythmically penetrated his ears. Even that was dull though, diluted through the fogginess of his muddled brain.

Izuku wanted to open his eyes, but they stayed glued shut. He tried to move only to find his limbs protest at the movement. Just what had happened? He didn't remember much.

Just… they were at the USJ for class… and then someone attacked.

Oh yeah, villains had attacked.

 _Villains had attacked._

Faintly, he noted the beeping speed up.

They had been fighting villains, and he had gotten hurt… he had been hurt, but that wasn't…. He was missing something.

 _What was he missing?_

He had been hurt, and he was with Tsuyu… right? Her and… and—there had been blood coming from his torso, an ugly bite mark scarring his chest... they had used a scarf as a tourniquet… It had been… Mineta's scarf.

Oh yeah, Mineta had been with him. Wait… Mineta.

Mineta, blaming him.

Mineta, not moving.

Mineta, cowering in the face of danger.

Mineta, blood pooling around his limp form.

 _That monster, the nomu, had mutilated Mineta… and it was my fault._

 _My fault._

The beeping sped up even more.

Izuku ignored the deep burning ache that flowed throughout his being as he practically jumped up from the bed and looked around wildly. The room was dark and empty. He deduced it to be late at night then. It looked like he was in Recovery Girl's office. That knowledge did nothing to appease him.

His right arm was in a sling, and for the life of him he couldn't be bothered to try and think about why it would be in one. He was hooked up to something, a heart monitor and… something else, he had something in his left arm, probably an IV and… maybe a blood transfusion. He remembered there being _a lot_ of blood, but he couldn't be sure. It was too dark, and everything hurt too much. The dull ache pounded in his skull.

Being here… in the infirmary only solidified the fact that things were bad. If he was here… who else was here… _because of him and his damned quirk—curse?_

It was his fault. All of this… the entire thing… it _had_ to have been his fault. That was what his quirk did…

Mineta was… he was… and it was his fault.

How could he be a hero when he had this much blood on his hands? A phantom pain ran across the scar that ran from his ear, down his neck, and through his chest—it burned. _He deserved it._

Everything hurt, actually, now that he thought about it. He was exhausted, and all of his newly accumulated wounds itched, a searing sensation that edged at his skin before it took on a more insistent bite, causing irritation to build. It was still duller than he felt it should have been, but he chalked that up to pain meds that he had no doubt been given. He didn't even want to think about the new injuries he'd sustained.

Even if his body was screaming at him to rest, he simply pulled his knees to his chest, ignoring the sting of the movement. Right now, the most excruciating pain Izuku felt wasn't any of the injuries he'd acquired, it was the knowledge that he had failed. _And now someone was dead because of it._

He didn't understand it, he didn't even like Mineta all that much. His comments were lewd and perverted in nature, and he just didn't talk about much else but girls. Izuku didn't really think he was all that invested in becoming a hero so he never really paid that much attention to him. And then Mineta had even blamed everything on him. He had pointed fingers, laid sole responsibility for the events at USJ on Izuku. The worst part though was the fact that no matter how much Izuku wanted to deny it he couldn't… because a small part of him couldn't blame Mineta for thinking such things.

To be honest, Izuku had been surprised that Uraraka and Iida had so readily accepted him; Mineta's response to his quirk was the more normal one.

Unbidden, tears started to fall.

He had never wanted this. He had never wanted anyone to suffer because of him. All Izuku had ever wanted was to help people; all he ever did was hurt people, cause them unnecessary pain due to his quirk.

Why did he have to have this quirk? Who could ever benefit from something like it? All it did was cause misery. With a power like this, he was just a curse.

Silently, he wept, thankful that no one was here to witness his breakdown—or at least, no one was awake to notice the mess that he was.

Soon enough, exhaustion began to pull at him.

He was too tired to dwell on this any longer; unconsciousness was gnawing at him. It didn't take long for it to drag him back under.

* * *

The next time Izuku awoke, it was to the sound of voices.

They were fuzzy and muffled, but familiar nonetheless. He picked out the voice of Recovery Girl pretty easily. She was talking to someone.

He groaned, and the voices fell silent.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. The brightness of the room made him squint, his eyes struggling to adjust. After blinking a few times though, the blurriness faded away.

"Young Midoriya, you're awake." It was All Might. He was here.

Guilt swelled in his gut. He turned in the direction to see All Might sitting on the bed next to him. He was bandaged up, but otherwise looked fine. He had probably overdone it and gone past his limit.

Taking a steadying breath, Izuku blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "I'm sorry." Slowly, he shimmied into a sitting position, which was made only slightly more difficult due to the sling his right arm was in, probably because of the injuries it had taken.

If anything, his apology just made All Might wither. "And what are you apologizing for?"

Izuku just blinked. Wasn't it obvious? This whole mess was because of him.

"I… this entire thing… it's because-because of me." He looked down, shamefaced.

There was a pause before All Might spoke solemnly, "Midoriya... You can't possibly believe this was your fault. If anything, the blame lies with me."

Izuku perked up at this. Why would All Might blame himself?

"I—" All Might continued "—I was supposed to be there from the very beginning, but I wasn't. If I had just done my job then—"

"Now you two stop it with the self-blaming," Recovery Girl chided, interrupting their conversation. "It's no use blaming yourself for something you can't change. It's a tragedy, but all we can do is move forward, yes?"

There was worth to her words, but Izuku couldn't help but disagree. She just didn't understand. "But Mineta…" Izuku managed to whisper out in a strangled voice, "he's… because of—"

"What happened to Mineta was tragic. No one should have to experience something like that… and I can understand why you'd blame yourself for it, but that doesn't change the fact that it was the villains who delivered the final blow. You didn't do anything; the villains are the only ones to blame for this."

Izuku gulped. She wasn't wrong… but then, she didn't know his quirk either. Still, it was best not to argue with her. For such a stout woman, she was not one to be trifled with.

"So… how are my injuries?" He really hoped they weren't too bad, they sure hadn't felt _that_ bad at the moment, but there had been more pressing concerns then as well.

Recovery Girl considered him, then shook her head, "I can already tell, you're the type to disregard your own well being in a battle."

Izuku didn't know what to think of that. He couldn't really argue with it, in the heat of the moment he rarely did give his own limitations the time of day. In those moments, everyone else's safety just stood out to him more so than his own.

"Don't give me that look," Recovery Girl gave him a look, a look that said 'I know exactly what you're thinking, and I want you to stop.' "How can you expect to help _anyone_ if you let yourself get torn to ribbons."

He was about to say something but thought better of it, not wanting to argue with his elder, instead changing the topic, "So… how long have I been here then?"

Recovery Girl took her time to answer, going through their medical charts and whatnot. He didn't know what she was doing, but it was most likely medically related, so he probably wouldn't know anyway.

She sighed, "Surprisingly, not long, a day. You were brought in yesterday with severe blood loss and a few other minor injuries. The only injury you sustained that caused any permanent damage was your dislocated shoulder, which might have healed properly if not for the stab wound. There was some nerve damage, I'm afraid. It's not bad, but I can't heal it."

Izuku stifled a breath… that wasn't… good. "How bad is the nerve damage?" he managed to ask.

"Usually, with a dislocated shoulder, the nerve damage is in the axillary nerve, and typically it will heal itself after the shoulder is popped back in place, however, because the stab wound you received almost immediately after popping the shoulder back in place hit that nerve, it may not just go away with time. It shouldn't hinder you all that much, but it will cause you some pain and possibly stiffness."

"Oh…" Izuku started.

All might looked at him, and Izuku hated the pity in it, "Young Midoriya—"

"So, it's not too bad then. I mean, like, it's _not_ good, but it could have been worse, right?"

Recovery Girl nodded, "Yes, but that being said, I would like to keep it in a sling for at least a week, with my quirks affect, that should be enough time for it to heal properly. Though do be careful with it, it'll be weaker and more prone to injuries now so that it's been damaged. "

Well, it could have been worse, much worse, he supposed.

"And then that bite on your chest… I'm afraid it will scar, along with the wound on your right cheek."

It took a moment for Izuku to recall what the injury on his cheek had been from… that villain, their quirk… it had, he didn't know, but it was like it peeled away his skin layer by layer. He shivered at the memory. And then there was the bite he'd gotten from the shark villain. He'd actually bit him… that was a wild thought.

All in all, he hadn't been _too_ injured. He knew better than to chalk it up to luck, but still, to have faced villains and walk away with minor injuries was a feat in and of itself.

Then he remembered exactly what those villains had done, and his enthusiasm for having gotten away almost unscathed molted into guilt. The villains may have landed the final blow, but… no, he shouldn't blame himself… not right now. It had happened, he couldn't change it. It was awful, and he hated it—hated himself, but what was done was done… It was history; he couldn't rewrite it.

And besides he had done something, hadn't he… that villain… he had actually used his quirk to help. Honestly, it was surprising really, what he had done. How had he done that? He'd never been able to manifest it like that… and to keep it there, in one place, latch it on to something, someone… _he could actually do that?_ Could he… with his quirk… actually curse things?

Interesting.

"Now what's that face for?" All Might asked after Recovery Girl had left them.

"Huh?" he turned to All Might, not even aware of the fact that he had been making a face. "Nothing just… thinking…" he turned away from All MIght and sat back against the bed.

"Young Midoriya…"

"Hmm?" he hummed, acknowledging that he had heard All Might and was listening.

"Back at the USJ…"

Oh no, Izuku thought. This couldn't be good, his voice sounded so solemn, so grave.

"I heard you talking to the villain. You said some things—" he paused, and Izuku felt his heart clench. He had said a lot of things to the villain. "You said you were cursed, that you _were_ a curse… you don't— tell me you don't actually believe that."

 _Oh._

Izuku didn't—he didn't have a response for that. He didn't understand why All Might wouldn't see it, he knew what his quirk was. He knew that his quirk only ever caused bad things to happen… so why was it so wrong to admit he was a curse? It was the truth.

That was the thing though; All Might… his mom, and now even his friends… they _didn't_ think he was a curse.

"I-I," he turned to meet All Might's gaze, his green eyes wilting under the intensity of those blue orbs—they were filled with so much anguish, so much pain and sorrow. He caved; tears started to fall, because this was too much.

"All Might… how am I not a burden? A liability? A curse? All I do is bring about pain and suffering… all I've _ever_ done was cause misfortune, cause problems. Even now… even when I tried to help, someone _died._ They were right in front of me, within my reach, and I just— I watched as they died, and I couldn't do anything."

Somewhere in his words, he had adjusted his position, still facing All Might, but not meeting his eyes. He knew he was rambling now, and his words were probably a jumbled mess, but he couldn't stop himself. Once his emotions grabbed ahold of him, they had no intention of stopping, and it looked like All Might wasn't going to say anything until he had finished.

"And… and… it's just I want to help people. All I've ever wanted was to help people, to make them feel safe, but how could anyone ever feel safe when I could make a building just fall on them… out of nowhere, for no reason at all. Nothing is off limits, nothing is safe from my— from my… my curse. It's not a quirk; quirks help people, this," he gestured to himself with his free hand, "causes nothing but misery. Someone like me, I don't deserve to be hero... I don't deserve to be your successor." He broke off into sobs.

He didn't hear All Might say anything, but there was the sound of a bed creaking and quick footsteps before the pressure on his bed shifted. He didn't have time to react as he was pulled into a crushing hug.

He didn't know what he was expecting All Might to do, but it certainly hadn't been hugging him as to comfort him. He couldn't say he hated it, because it felt nice. He just didn't understand it.

"Midoriya, I need you to listen to me okay. You are not a curse. You have never been a curse. Your quirk can be dangerous, but it does not make you cursed. I chose you to be my successor because you proved to me that you did deserve it, and that hasn't changed."

"But it—"

"It's not a curse, and neither are you. Midoriya. What happened was not your fault. "

These were words he didn't know he desperately needed to hear until he heard someone say them. He was barely able to get out a choked whisper, "It hurts."

All Might just pulled him in tighter. "I know. It's going to hurt. It has to. Before it can get better it has to hurt, but Midoriya… it will get better. You're still a child, you haven't had the time to cultivate your quirk and make it your own. Your possibilities are endless, and Midoriya," he paused for just a moment, "I am proud to call you my successor."

Izuku hadn't thought it was possible for him to break down even more, but those words seemed to do the trick, because he was sobbing even more harshly now. It was cathartic, in a way. So much had happened so quickly, and he couldn't process it, all he knew was that it was too much, and he needed an outlet.

This was too much.

He couldn't process it, so he didn't. He just let himself fall into harsh sobs that racked his body. All Might never let him go, something he was eternally grateful for. He wasn't going to leave him—he could have just decided that Izuku's quirk was too much to deal with and just left… that's what most people had done after they learned of his quirk. He hadn't expected All Might to be any different.

No one wanted to deal with a quirk like Izuku's… but then, All Might had said it wasn't a curse, and that had just… it had reduced him to a sniveling mess of a person.

Nothing was said for a while, they just relished in the peace of the moment. It ended too soon, but eventually, All Might released his grip on him.

"It's been a long day, Midoriya," All Might started, but Izuku cut him off.

"Izuku."

All Might just gave him a confused look.

If All Might could know just how awful his quirk was and still believe in him, then… "You can call me Izuku, it is my name after all." Though his face was no doubt a mess, he smiled softly.

"Izuku, I think we should both get some rest."

Izuku nodded, he was still exhausted. It was weird… having someone call him by his given name, but it wasn't a bad weird. He had known All MIght for nearly year now, and if he hadn't left yet, then Izuku thought he deserved that much.

"And Izuku," All Might said, "you can do likewise if you wish, you can call me Toshinori, though please do be discreet when in public, not many know me by that name."

Izuku nodded his head… this was… he was happy. There was still a ways to go, he couldn't just stop thinking his quirk was a curse, or that he wasn't one either, but right now, he didn't feel as filled with despair as he had in the past. It felt like there was hope.

"Get some rest, my boy," Toshinori called out as he settled into his own bed.

Izuku was out before his head hit the pillow.

* * *

AN: :DD I hope you enjoyed, ad if ya did,let me know~

As always,

until next time,

Vera~


	9. The Third Man

AN: This took longer than I expected and I can't honestly say I'm super happy with how it turned out, but there were some scenes I really liked writing so it's not a total loss. Oh, I also want to give my lovely beta, Rzen, a shoutout because she does an amazing job. Anyway, I hope you enkoy the chapter. :D

* * *

"A person doesn't change just because you find out more."

* * *

Izuku woke up to something quite literally pouncing on him. He startled from the impact, opening his eyes only to be met with the golden set of Shichi's. After blinking a few times and getting his bearings, he realized that there was something wrong with this scene. Because he was in the infirmary, and Shichi was also here with him…

"Shichi?" he whispered confusedly. "You shouldn't be here— wait," suspicion interlaced his voice, "How did you even get here? You should be at home, or with your owners..."

"Your mother brought her," a voice interjected. "Now, normally I don't allow animals here, but that cat… I swear, she just kept coming back," Recovery Girl chided. "Anyway, since she seems to be attached to you, I'll allow her to stay, at least until your mother returns."

Shichi mrowed, her golden eyes going wide as she pawed at him, wanting attention. Izuku shook his head and with his free hand, started to pet her. He turned to see Recovery Girl stuffing things into a medical kit. "My mom was here then?"

She nodded, "Came by maybe half an hour after you fell back asleep. She's gone to get lunch now, should be back soon though."

"I see… uh, how long was I sleeping for then?"

"A few hours. I'm surprised you're awake at all though, with my quirk working on you, you'll probably be pretty tired so it's best for you to sleep, but I'm sure you'll have visitors coming and going today since you weren't conscious at all yesterday after you were brought here," she said.

"Are you going somewhere?" he asked, eyes looking at her bag then back at her.

"The hospital," she stated simply, "Your teacher, Aizawa has to make a statement for the media about the incident today, and I highly doubt he's healed enough to give one at the moment," she spoke sullenly, dampening the mood of the room.

"So… you're just leaving then?" Izuku found it kind of odd that she would leave him alone, but then, it wasn't like he was going anywhere or going to do anything.

"Just for a few hours at most. None of your injuries are that serious, in fact, you'll be able to leave once your mother returns."

Dully, Izuku nodded. He may be awake, but he still felt like his brain was lagging. Shichi purred, pulling his attention back to her. "I'm sorry about Shichi… She has a knack for getting into places that she really shouldn't."

"Don't worry, dearie, just this one time, I'll allow it." Recovery Girl gave her bag a once over before exiting the room, leaving Izuku alone (with Shichi of course).

He wondered where All Might—Toshinori—had gone off to, but figured he must have left when Izuku was sleeping. It would make sense that he didn't want anyone to wander into the room and ask who he was—as only a select few people actually knew his true form.

For a while, everything was quiet. Shichi lay contently on his lap, which of course meant, by cat law, that he was unable to move or jostle her, even if it meant he had to sit there uncomfortably for however long she sat there. Those were just the rules, he didn't make them, and he sure wasn't going to break that sacred oath. Everyone knew that once a cat sat down on you, you were obligated to sit as still as possible for said cat.

There wasn't much to do… it was kind of boring being cooped up in the infirmary when he didn't necessarily _need_ to be there any longer… but oh well.

Shichi perked her ears and sat up from her spot. Someone was coming. Izuku looked at the door expectantly.

"What if he's sleeping?" He heard the hushed voice of Iida from beyond the doorway.

Uraraka's cheery voice came next, "Then we'll come back later."

Before another word was said, the doors opened and in walked Iida and Uraraka. They stopped short when they saw him awake.

"Deku!"

"Midoriya."

Shichi, wanting to feel like a part of the group, mrowed loudly.

"Shichi!" Uraraka shouted out, surprised. "What is she doing here?" She then turned her attention to the cat, "What are you doing here, little missy?" Shichi lapped up the attention like a dog, ironically.

"Is she allowed to be here?" Iida commented idly.

Izuku shrugged, "I don't think so, but like, Recovery Girl said it was okay this one time, so I guess so?"

Iida just nodded, accepting the answer.

Uraraka ignored the exchange, giving all her attention to Shichi, who had decided she no longer wanted it (as most cats do). Shichi jumped off the bed and hid under it, not wanting to deal with people any longer. Izuku found it mildly odd as she typically tended to be more social, but there were times when she had decided she didn't want any human contact.

"I guess she wants to be left alone then," Uraraka said, turning her attention back on him.

He smiled weakly… these were his friends. Uraraka, cheery and enthusiastic, and Iida, with his demeanor more calm and collected.

 _Friends you don't deserve._ His mind supplied cruelly.

"I guess so…" he trailed off. It was nice to have friends like this, but he didn't really know what to talk about now…

There was an awkward tension in the room. He didn't like it. "So, the weirdest thing happened to me the other day…" he trailed off, a small cheshire smile splayed on his features.

They both looked at him with curiosity, and in Iida's case, a little suspicion.

"Well… One morning, I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas I don't know."

There was a stark silence. Uraraka's face was filled with confusion and perhaps a little concern. "Deku… are you… are you okay?"

Iida sighed after a moment, recognition dawning on his features. "Animal Crackers? Really, that's a stretch, even for you."

Izuku just shrugged. "Felt like a good reference for the situation. There was too much tension in the air, besides, I think it's one of the best lines ever."

Iida shook his head in disappointment.

"I'm sorry," Uraraka cut in, "Am I missing… something here?"

Both Izuku and Iida turned to her, though Izuku looked a little more flustered than Iida did. "Oh, it's—" Izuku started.

Uraraka cut him off though, understanding flooding her features, "Oh… this is one of those movie things. One of those really old movies that I've probably never even heard about, right?"

Izuku nodded, "Yeah, they are pretty old and outdated…"

"No, I didn't mean it as an insult," she assuaged, "I think it's super cool that you know all these old movies and stuff, I just didn't get the reference right away is all."

Iida nodded his head in agreement. "While they are rather old movies that you seem to have a taste for, I think it's rather impressive that you can quote them so openly and easily."

"I guess." Izuku didn't know what else to say, he had just said it on a whim, not even really thinking about if they got it or not—most people didn't. "You seem to be pretty good at getting the references though, Iida."

"My family, or rather, my older brother, has a sort of collection of them at our home. It's not very big, only a few movies that have withstood the movie industries test of time, but I am familiar with a few off-handed references."

This was nice, Izuku thought. The tension in the air had lifted, leaving a calm atmosphere. He and his friends could talk freely; they didn't bring up the elephant in the room, instead deciding to talk about miscellaneous things.

Izuku hadn't even noticed that an hour had gone by until Iida spoke up.

"I'm sorry to cut this short, but I am afraid I must be heading out soon."

Uraraka nodded her head in agreement, "Yeah, I should be heading out too, My parents wanted to meet for lunch."

"It's fine, you guys go. I appreciate you coming over here to visit me, it means a lot."

"Of course, Deku!" She paused, face contorting into one of deep concentration as she thought. After a moment, her eyes sparkled with an idea; both Iida and himself gave her an odd look at that, but she just ignored them. "Oh, I've got it!" She nodded her head, a final confirmation that she liked her idea.

Both Iida and he gave her an inquisitive look.

"Well, I've been thinking… since you really like all those old movies that I've never even heard of and you like to quote them and such, I figured we could maybe have, like, a movie night or something? We don't have school for the rest of the week—"

"Wait, we don't?" Izuku questioned? He figured there hadn't been school today, because well both Iida and Uraraka had come to visit him during school hours, but not even tomorrow?

"Oh… yeah… uh—" Uraraka started, mood dulling.

Iida finished for her, "Did you not know? The school is taking some heat from the incident and is in the process of making adjustments. With the loss of a student and the safety of the school in question, the administration gave the students today and tomorrow off. Things aren't as bad as they could be because the main villain was caught, but many got away."

Oh.. that... That made sense, he guessed, but still. It seemed a little dramatic to just halt everything… it made everything so real.

He shook his head, not wanting to dwell on it. Instead, he chose to focus on what Uraraka had been saying, "So… a movie night?"

"Yeah!" she beamed. "I haven't seen or even heard of any of those movies, so I thought it could be fun."

Iida nodded his head, "I agree. I think it would be nice, and a good way to relax after the stress of these past few days."

Izuku nodded, a small smile forming on his face. "Yeah… I think so too."

Before either one of them could get another word in, the door slammed open, and Izuku saw the worried face of his mom.

"M-mom?" he asked as she stood at the doorway. Tears had already started to form in her face at the sight of him.

From under the bed, Shichi stirred. She ran up to his mom and rubbed against her leg.

"Izuku… I'm so glad you're okay."

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." His voice rose an octave as he spoke.

Iida coughed awkwardly, gaining Izuku's attention, "Well, I guess I'll see you later then, Midoriya." He then turned to Izuku's mom, "It was nice meeting you, Midoriya-san, though I wished it could have been under better circumstances."

His mom blinked, unsure of what to say in response.

"That's Iida, mom, you know, my friend," he supplied, and she smiled warmly. "And that's Uraraka," he gestured to Uraraka, who waved.

"It's nice to meet you, Midoriya-san," she said.

"Likewise," Izuku's mom said cheerily, and Shichi mrowed in agreement, "I'm sorry if I intruded on you guys. You're welcome to stay if you want."

"It's fine, we were actually just leaving anyway," Uraraka said as she and Iida made their way to the door.

Before they could leave, Izuku interjected, "Wait, mom, is it okay if they come over tomorrow night for a movie night?" Even as he said it, there was a trace of doubt. Meekly, he turned his attention to his friends, "I mean, if you guys still want to, that is."

"Of course we do!" Uraraka beamed.

"It would be our pleasure," Iida commented.

He gazed at his mom expectantly. She looked slightly reserved before she spoke, "I think as long as you feel up to it tomorrow, then I don't see why not."

Izuku grinned, "I'll be fine, see you guys tomorrow then."

"Yeah, see ya," Uraraka called as they left.

There was a moment of silence once they left. His mom found one of the chairs on the wall and moved it beside his bed.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here earlier," she started.

"What, no, don't be… It's fine, mom, really. My injuries weren't even that bad, so it's fine," Izuku rebuked, not wanting his mom to be upset over it.

She shook her head. "Don't say that, I don't want to see you injured at all… I was so worried about you, Izuku."

At that, Izuku ducked his head, he didn't want to worry his mom… but there wasn't anything else he could have done in that scenario… right? He had done everything he could and only sustained minor injuries, so it was fine… right?

Izuku decided a change of subject might be a good idea, "So, uh, you said Shichi was going crazy?"

At the mention of her name, Shichi perked her ears up and preened. If Izuku didn't know any better, he would have sworn that she was smiling cheekily at him.

His mom gave him a knowing smile, "She practically tore the apartment apart—"

"Why was she at the apartment?"

"Oh yeah, I never got a chance to tell you," she frowned at that, but quickly hid it, "Sarah stopped by the apartment earlier today and asked if we could watch Shichi for a week. They had a family emergency and were flying back home for a week."

"So, you're staying with us then, Shichi?" he asked as he stroked her sleek fur. She purred contently.

"Izuku," his mom started, her voice stern.

He turned his attention to her, his green eyes locking with hers. Her gaze was melancholy—there was pain in those eyes—it made Izuku stop for a moment and think about things from her perspective.

He gulped. He couldn't imagine how scary it must've been to hear about what had happened. A student had _died_.

 _Mineta had died right in front of him. He was right there, but Izuku could do nothing but watch. There was blood, so much blood, and an agonized screech—it pierced his ears, a needle sliding into his brain. His heart was pounding, demanding to leave his chest and oh god, he was right there. That thing had just… right in front of him… like he was nothing and—_

Someone was gripping his shoulder.

"Izuku?" The voice was scared, but solid. It pulled him back to reality.

He wasn't back there.

Mineta wasn't here.

That monster thing wasn't here.

He was at Yuuei, in the infirmary. His mom was here… she had pulled him from that… flashback? Was that what it was? He took a moment to reign himself in, taking a deep breath, his one hand was still on Shichi. She was a comfort and petting her was a welcomed distraction. He looked over to see his mom, staring at him with a horrified and concerned expression.

"M-mom?" he asked, his voice raw. "I'm sorry, it's—"

"Don't you dare say it's nothing, or that you're fine," she defied, voice shaking, but resolute all the same.

He started to say something, then thought better of it. Really, he wasn't fine… and how could he be? He had _watched_ somebody die… That wasn't— he couldn't brush it off, no matter how hard he tried.

He didn't want to worry his mom, but one look at her told him he couldn't lie to her either. "I-I'm not… _fine_ , not right now at least, but," he thought about it, about his friends, and All Might—Toshinori—how they were here for him now, "I will be."

It wasn't a lie. He would be fine, he was sure of it, just not right now. Because right now he didn't _need_ to be okay, nobody did. He adjusted himself into a better sitting position on the bed, scooting up a little and angling himself towards his mom a little more.

"I-I was there, when it happened, like _right there,"_ he wasn't looking at her anymore, his eyes had glazed over, but he was still in control. "I saw it… happen—"

"Oh, Izuku," his mom's anguished voice pained him. She rushed up from her seat and pulled him into a crushing hug.

It was warm and safe. He let his able-bodied hand wrap around her. He hadn't realized how much he needed it until the tears started to fall. It was a lot. All of it. He didn't know where to start even, how to process it all.

Last time, when his quirk had… killed someone else, that girl, and… and several others, he had just shut himself off. He had been mostly quiet and non-responsive, which no one could really blame him for. This time though, he couldn't do that. He couldn't just dissociate from reality for days to mull over it and think about it.

Besides, this time he had people he could lean on. He had people who supported him.

"Hey, mom?" he asked.

"Yes, honey?"

Just her voice made him want to cry more, but he couldn't do that. He'd cried so much lately, breaking down again wasn't going to get him anywhere. "Just… I'm glad you're here. Like, I know you had work today, but—"

"Oh shush, of course I wasn't going to go into work today, not when my baby boy needs me."

He was about to refute her, but decided against it… she wasn't wrong. He _really_ was glad she was here, and maybe, a small part of him needed her to be here, because she was someone who had always been on his side, no matter what. She had been the one person who believed in him.

Instead, he just sighed contently, "Yeah…"

It was at this time that Shichi thought she needed to get up, stretch, and then paw at them.

"I think… I think you should maybe take Shichi home… she's not used to being cooped up inside all day… with so many people." Izuku knew Shichi wasn't one to be contained for long, she probably had to go to the bathroom too, if she had been here all day.

His mom looked a little sad as she realized it was probably him trying to get her to leave, but really, he was just tired. "Oh… okay. Do you need anything while I'm gone?"

He shook his head, then thought better of it, "I think… well Recovery Girl said I was free to leave later today, so maybe a change of clothes…"

She nodded, ruffling his hair as she got up. Shichi seemed to know what was going on because she practically jumped into his mom's arms as she reached to grab her.

"Alright, well, I'll go home and grab a change of clothes then come back to pick you up. Sound good?"

He nodded, leaning back against the bed. It wasn't as though he _wanted_ her to leave, he just didn't think it'd be much fun for her if he was just sleeping for most of the day anyway.

* * *

Katsuki was frankly annoyed. Ever since yesterday shitty haired Kirishima wouldn't leave him alone. He kept acting like them having fought villains next to each other made them comrades or some shit.

It fucking didn't.

He didn't want anything to do with Shitty Hair; he was just a wannabe who spouted out nothing but manly nonsense. The only, and he meant _only,_ redeeming quality in him was that fact that he wasn't all talk, he did, in fact, have some merit. He didn't have a lot, because he talked too much, but he had some.

It made his presence slightly more bearable, but still fucking annoying.

Still, right now, as he made his way through the hallway to the infirmary, he couldn't help but be annoyed that Shitty Hair was with him.

"Why the hell are you following me, Shitty Hair?" he seethed, eyes staring ahead as he stormed forward.

Kirishima walked in stride with him, having the audacity to smile like they were buddies. "Well, you said you were gonna go, and I quote, 'talk to that fucking nerd, Deku,' and I wanted to see Midoriya too, ya know. Make sure he's alright. He passed out at USJ so everyone is kinda worried about him… plus like… he was there for… that…" he trailed off, tune slightly less jovial.

"Tch, whatever, just don't get in my way."

Katsuki couldn't care less what Shitty Hair did so long as he didn't get in his way. His biggest concern was the fucking nerd, Deku. More specifically, his quirk—Katsuki knew Deku had used it at USJ.

What had he been thinking? Katsuki knew that Deku _knew_ better than to just use his quirk like that, not after last time, but there he went and used it. And this time… it wasn't a stranger who died, it was a classmate—not anyone of importance, but still a needless death.

Katsuki had been trying to lay low, not interact with the nerd. Aizawa had made it pretty damn clear that he sided with the nerd, and so it was best to just not interact. Of course, all of that reservation flew out the window as soon as Deku decided to use his quirk.

Just _what the fuck had Deku been thinking?_

Once he had arrived at the door to the infirmary, he wasted no time in slamming the door open. He didn't waste a breath, "Deku, what the fuck were you playing at?"

Katsuki's glare only intensified when he saw the damn nerd looked as though he had just woken up from sleeping, as though he didn't have a fucking care in the world, as though his quirk _hadn't just killed someone._

Deku looked completely shocked to see him. "Bakugo…? What are— what are you doing here?"

From behind him, he heard Kirishima state all too cheerfully, "Hey Midoriya, glad to see you're up and doing better."

"Uhh… yeah, thanks." Deku said dully, eyes still fearfully on Katsuki.

Katsuki was enraged. How dare Deku look innocent, after what he caused? "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Deku had the fucking nerve to give him an incredulous look, as though _Katsuki_ was the one jumping the gun.

"Well," Kirishima cut in awkwardly, "I can see you two maybe have some things you need to talk about so… it was good seeing you Midoriya. Hope your injuries heal soon." He carefully shuffled out, leaving Katsuki to give an exasperated sigh and Deku to give a confused nod as he left.

Deku spoke first, "That was kinda weird—"

"Don't fucking change the subject," Katsuki seethed. "What the hell were you thinking? That you would just take the entire goddamn facility down?"

Deku's eyes widened, fear, and perhaps curiosity, mingling in the green orbs. "I-I… that wasn't what I was doing…"

"Then just what the fuck were you planning?" Katsuki didn't have time for this bullshit. He didn't even fucking care… It was just… Deku _had_ to use his fucking quirk like _that time._ He didn't get it. Why didn't Deku understand what his quirk was? That it wasn't meant to be a hero's quirk.

A quirk like Deku's shouldn't exist.

It _killed_ people.

It worked without mercy. Katsuki had seen it. He knew a lot of quirks were dangerous, hell, even his quirk, had any _other_ lesser person have gotten it, could very easily kill someone, but Katsuki had control over his quirk. It wasn't going to hurt anyone unless he willed it to… Deku's quirk, well that killed without discrimination or command. That's why it was an abomination.

He glared at Deku, watching as something morphed in his eyes, they became colder, fiercer.

"Why, exactly, are you here, Bakugo?" There was finality in his voice. It wasn't a question that begged for an answer, it demanded it.

Katsuki steamed, "Isn't it obvious?"

Katsuki knew Deku wasn't as smart as him, but he hadn't thought he would be stupid enough to ever use his quirk like that again. Not after last time.

"No," Deku deadpanned, sitting up straighter, then wincing slightly at the movement, "it's not _obvious_ why you of all people would storm into the infirmary to yell at me."

"Your fucking quirk, Deku." He accented the words with a rage-filled fire. "What, did you think you could use it and it would actually help people this time around?" he taunted sadistically, stalking closer to Deku. "Did you think you could play hero? That it would turn out fine just because there were fucking pros there to protect you? Is that what you thought when you decided to use your curse of a quirk? Because someone's dead now."

He watched with cruel eyes as something in Deku broke. His green eyes were no longer filled with electric energy. They had withered away into dust right before Katsuki's eyes, and it thrilled him.

Finally, Deku was coming to understand just what he was. His quirk was never meant to be among the elite at Yuuei, not when it only caused disaster and tragedy. Katsuki wasn't just being biased towards the quirk because it was Deku's. Logically, his quirk was incredibly dangerous, and just shouldn't be used (not when it was so variable, and the shithead couldn't control it worth a damn), but Deku just _had_ to prove that he was a fucking hero, didn't he?

"I—"

"No, save it. You were just pretending to be a hero, like always. As long as there's someone there to tell you it's okay, it doesn't matter how much carnage you leave in your wake, right? Well guess what, Deku, the world doesn't need a cursed hero, it needs heroes who can _actually_ save people."

Deku looked mortified, but mostly, he looked resigned. It should have thrilled him, but it didn't. Instead, Katsuki felt… nothing.

"I don't understand you, Bakugo," he heard Deku whisper. "You say you want to be a hero, but really, all you've done is try to demean me until I'm nothing. You boast about being the best, but you won't let anyone else even compete… It's like you need to convince yourself or something."

Katsuki's breath hitched.

"You know…" Deku's eyes were filled with sorrow now, it was kind of pathetic, honestly, but Katsuki found he couldn't look away. They condemned him, those eyes, judging him for past mistakes. "I just… all I ever wanted was to be your friend."

"We're not friends," he said instinctively.

"I know," there was a beat, "and I don't… I don't want to be friends. You're not a good person, Bakugo."

Katsuki startled, anger flaring up. "The hell you say?"

Deku looked resolute. "You're not. Bakugo, you told me to die… I don't… how can you say you're going to be a hero when you turn around and tell me to kill myself?"

The agony in Deku's voice was enough to halt any remark Bakugo had.

"I just don't get it, you know? How can you say something so earnestly, then go back on it so easily, just to hurt me? And for what? What did I do to you? Why do you hate _me_ so much?"

Katsuki didn't have an answer. Deku was just so…

Deku was Deku, and he hated it. That was all there was to it, but he didn't know why he hated Deku… Or maybe he did, and he just wasn't willing to admit it.

"Would you have regretted it if I had gone through with it?"

A knot formed in Katsuki's stomach, twisting and curling, clawing at his insides. "Huh? What the fuck are you spouting out about now, Deku?"

"Back then, that day… You told me to take a swan dive off the roof…" Deku was averting his eyes now. "If I had done it like you said, would you have felt guilty about it? Or, would you have just scoffed at my cowardice, and thought 'finally that prick's gone?'" The flippant nature of Deku's inflection threw him off.

"I don't—" Katsuki started, unable to think properly.

"No," Deku's tone was stern, not letting him walk away from this. "Tell me, Bakugo, I wanna know why you said it. What you were thinking? You can't just say that, then brush it off later. Did you even think of the consequences of your actions? What if I had gone through with it, and it was found out that you _told_ me, even goaded me into it? Do you honestly think you would be standing here as a student right now had I just offed myself _like you told me to?_ "

He hadn't meant it when he said it back then… not really. The consequences never crossed his mind. Deku wouldn't have been stupid enough to do it.

Katsuki's mind was racing. The knot in his stomach warped. It was clawing up his throat now, taking his vocal cords by the reigns and holding them hostage.

He didn't… It didn't matter… right? Because Deku was never going to do it. He _hadn't_ done it. So it didn't matter what would have happened… because it didn't.

If he had though… would he have felt regret? Or guilt?

Katsuki stood there for a full minute, gawking at Deku.

"Forget it, you don't even know, do you? You've always been like this… thinking you're so much better than me, that my mere existence is a stain on yours. I never did anything… I know my quirk—" he stopped "—my curse, isn't great. I get why you wouldn't want to be near me… I do, but to think so little of me that you would rather I just die?"

"Shut up," he fumed, but it came out as a pained whine, much to his ire. There was no bite to his words, just empty hate. He didn't like hearing what Deku had to say, he never had…

Deku had always blabbered on and on, but today, right now, it was deafening, a torrent roaring in his mind, whispering the truths he tried to hide… Deku was speaking the truth, as much as Katsuki denied it.

It was infuriating to hear Deku speak, because he couldn't refute what he was saying.

Deku sent a glare at him, it was filled with anger, but also pity, and Katsuki fucking loathed it. "And what about the other day… in that battle exercise thing we did. You-you almost killed me," he accused.

Scoffing, Katsuki replied, "You weren't going to die from that."

"That's not the point, because I could have… and you didn't even bat an eye."

Every breath he took hurt, physically pulling at his chest and pressing against him. "But you didn't, so it doesn't fucking matter. Just drop it Deku."

The pensive stare in Deku's eyes withered away. His posture slumped. He just looked exhausted right now, both physically and mentally. He sighed, "You don't get it… it's not— it was never about that... It was the fact that you thought so little of me, of my life, that you didn't care that it _could have_ killed me."

The silence was tense, the air on edge; Katsuki didn't know what to say to that… he didn't know anything anymore. His anger was bubbling, a roiling, burning sense of discontent rising in him.

Katsuki stood on edge, somewhere in their verbal onslaught, his hands had become fists. He could feel the explosions nesting within them now, ready to spark up and take everything down.

"Honestly though, Bakugo," he breathed, slumping down on the bed, "I'm just confused. So please," he was condescending, Katsuki's mind supplied ruefully, "tell me what it is about me that you hate so much." He was taunting him, just like always. That fucking nerd just thought he was the hot shit. Even when his quirk fucking killed people, he had the gall to play the victim. It sickened Katsuki. How Deku could be… _a deku,_ and yet— It just wasn't fucking right. What gave him the right?

"Don't fucking act like you're better than me; you're not," he fumed. His hands twitched in anticipation.

"What?" Deku sounded honest to god exasperated, and it was annoying as all hell. "Why would I think I'm better than you?

"You're…" his voice tapered off to a whisper, "I always thought you were amazing. Your quirk was so strong. You were fearless, everyone just loved you. You had so many friends, and I just wanted that… so I followed you around," Deku looked at him, and Katsuki felt something pierce his chest. It wasn't empathy, nor was it regret, but it was… something… something painful.

He took a sharp intake of breath. All the tension in him left, and his hands unclenched, their explosive nature hiding away, preparing for another day.

"You're a fucking curse," he bit out, but it was lacking the usual bite, "but you never fucking let that stop you. People died, and you still thought you could be something, and now look where you are. Look what happened because some dumbass indulged you in your dream." Katsuki wasn't sure why he even said anything. It wasn't a lie, he knew that, but it felt like one.

Deku practically wilted at that. It almost, _almost_ made him regret saying it, but he wasn't going to take back the truth just because it hurt Deku's feelings.

There was a shaky breath, and Deku was no longer looking at him, "Y-yeah… you're right. I am a curse… and people _have_ died because of me… but," an edge split into his voice, "if you just came here to spit words back in my face, to tell me things I already know... then just leave. I don't _need_ you to tell me how awful I am, how terrible my quirk is. I already know it…

"But you know," his tone shifted into something lighter, "I have people who believe in me now, so it doesn't hurt anymore, Bakugo. I have people who are there to tell me I'm not what I think I am—what _you have beaten into me_ … Unlike before, Bakugo, I have people on my side… Can the same be said about you?"

This time when Deku looked at him, it was Katsuki who felt the blow words could have on someone.

Why had he even come here?

The more he thought about it, the worse off he was. He shook his head.

"What the fuck are you implying Deku?" This wasn't what he had expected… he didn't know what he had expected, honestly, but not this.

It had been automatic really, when something went wrong his head immediately turned to Deku. He had always done that… and Deku had always turned his head down, with his tail between his legs, and accepted it, because that was his place. Katsuki had always known he was above Deku, it was obvious. Deku had to have his place beaten into him, and Katsuki had always done it willingly, making sure Deku never stepped foot on _Katsuki's_ pedestal.

Now though… things were changing.

Now, Deku was rising up, standing on top of him, and Katsuki was the one who didn't know his place.

Like it always seemed to, something had gone wrong, and before he knew what he was doing he was rushing in to blame Deku… but that wasn't something he could just… do now.

Suddenly, blaming Deku wasn't a viable action. Attacking Deku for being inferior wasn't a good enough reason anymore… People were slamming doors in his face. Deku had the praise of everyone now, Katsuki thought angrily. They believed in that nerd.

But…

Then…

Everyone had always told Katsuki how he would grow to be a great hero, the best, but now… where was that praise? Where we're those nobodies who had believed in him so readily?

They were gone… because they _didn't_ matter. They were just that, nobodies.

That praise, that ratification, it wasn't there anymore.

That realization slammed into Katsuki with the force of a train.

Now that he was here, in Yuuei, he _wasn't_ as great as they told him he was.

The air around him suffocated him, wrapping around him, stealing his sight away. For once, he couldn't see his future clearly; it was dull and murky.

He couldn't stand it. He needed to get out… because every moment here was a spike drilling deeper into him, telling him that he was wrong. That he had always been wrong. Every second here told him he failed, that he had become the villain.

 _He wasn't a villain… right?_

Because this meant he was in the wrong. He was never in the wrong. His actions were always justified in his mind… but now that viewpoint was shifting despite himself. He couldn't see clearly anymore.

Everything was muddled.

Deku—because of course it was fucking Deku—was the one to bring him back, "Bakugo… are you… are you okay?"

The concern in his voice was poison to Katsuki.

He hastily replied, "I'm fucking fine, worry about yourself. If you're so incessant on becoming a fucking hero, make sure there's not a body count every time you use your quirk."

"Bakugo—"

"Look, I don't fucking like you. I don't like your dumbass personality, I don't like that way you always look guilty over nothing, like a fucking kicked puppy, and I sure as hell don't like your need to be liked, to be seen as more than you are, so just—" He stopped, he wasn't sure where he was going with this.

Coming here was a mistake… and for the first time, he realized it (he was coming to a lot of world stopping realizations today).

There was no reward for him in bringing Deku down. It didn't help him… and it didn't… it used to make him feel better, but now it left him hollow.

He turned away from Deku, not able to look at him as he made his way to the door. "Why couldn't you just stay the fucking useless Deku that you were back in middle school?"

He didn't wait for an answer as he left.

Katsuki slammed the door as he left the infirmary.

It was a mistake to go there. He had left feeling even more discontented than before.

"Hey man, are you... okay?" It was Kirishima, apparently, he hadn't actually left them to their devices and just waited out in the hallway.

He didn't want to talk to anyone right now though. "Go away, Shitty Hair," he growled.

Kirishima walked in stride with him, but he looked more perplexed than earlier. "Say Bakugo, did you—" he stopped himself, thinking better than to ask.

Katsuki was in no mood to talk, but he was in an even lesser mood to listen to the half-hearted ramblings of his classmates. "What?"

Kirishima stuttered in his step before collecting himself. "Did you actually tell Midoriya to kill himself?" He sounded horrified to even speak it.

Katsuki tensed up.

It had just been a joke; he hadn't meant it. And yet, he couldn't find it within himself to respond.

Kirishima stopped walking altogether. "You did, didn't you?" he lightly asked, his voice strained by mortification.

Anger glowered in his red orbs, but Katsuki remained silent, something that Kirishima took as confirmation.

"That's… that's messed up dude, like _really_ messed up, like do you even realize how bad that is?" He took a steadying breath, slowly backing away from Katsuki, "I thought you wanted to be a hero… but that… How could you do that?" He was genuinely confused, anger didn't even lick at his voice, and yet Katsuki felt a crushing weight pressing down on him.

"I don't see why it fucking matters anyway, It's not like he went through with it," was all Katsuki could bite out. It wasn't a good enough answer… he knew that, but it was the only thing he could say. "Why were you even there? Why'd you fucking stay? Don't you have better things to do?" he barked out in a feeble attempt to change the subject.

"What? That's not… I was worried about Midoriya, okay. I'm allowed to be concerned about the welfare of a classmate, especially one that was injured fighting villains. I wanted to see if he was alright, and maybe it was a good thing I stayed too… Really, Bakugo, I thought you were better than this."

It stung, to hear those words. No one had ever said that they expected _more_ from him before. He had always been enough before, but he was quickly realizing that who he _really_ was and who he _thought_ he was… they were not the same person.

Kirishima shook his head, and Katsuki felt condemned. "That's so unmanly dude, what you did. You can't say things like that, and then expect it to just be okay… You _do_ know that, right?"

When Katsuki remained silent, his pride restricting him from offering any sort of defense, Kirishima just gave him a long, disappointed look. "Maybe you should think about what it actually means to be a hero before you try to be one then."

With that Kirishima turned heel and walked away from him. They weren't even friends, but the outright rejection stung; the realization that he was alone here… with no one to back him up slowly swallowed him up.

Standing in the middle of the hallway, in Yuuei, a prestigious academy known for its hero course, Katsuki realized that maybe he wasn't the hero he thought he was.

* * *

It remained deathly quiet after Bakugo left. Izuku wasn't really sure what to make of it. Bakugo and him had never gotten along, really, but this time felt different. There was more conflict in Bakugo, he wasn't as sure of himself or his actions… there had been hesitance and… doubt. It was unsettling.

Bakugo had always been so sure in himself, no matter what he was saying, he never doubted his words, but this time was different. This time, there _was_ doubt, and Izuku wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"What was that about?" he murmured aloud.

Izuku honestly wasn't sure what to make of the situation. It wasn't really unusual for Bakugo to come storming in after a shitshow and point fingers specifically at him, so he shouldn't have been surprised… but Bakugo had been leaving him alone for the longest time. So, for him to just show up out of nowhere, especially when he hadn't even seen what Izuku had done… it got to him. It really got to him.

He didn't know what to think.

Izuku couldn't think straight about it… because as much as it hurt, to hear those words from Bakugo, there was something there… there had been a dangerous edge to Bakugo's voice. It almost worried Izuku, but he stopped himself.

He didn't care; he _couldn't_ care. Bakugo was not his friend, that was an easy statement to say. They hadn't been friends for a long time now, so he had no qualms over saying it now. They weren't friends, but Izuku knew that he didn't _hate_ Bakugo. He wished he could, but he didn't. It wasn't that he thought they could reconcile and be friends or anything like that, it was just, he couldn't find it within himself to hate Bakugo.

He _did_ want Bakugo to succeed; Bakugo _could_ be a great hero, once he realized that the world didn't revolve around him. Maybe he wanted Bakugo to apologize to him. Maybe he wanted Bakugo to tell him that he _wasn't_ a curse, because, for some reason, Bakugo's opinion of him mattered. He wanted Bakugo to see him as a rival, not a disgrace. They didn't have to be friends, but he just wanted to stand on even ground with him.

 _I'm just a curse though. I can't possibly hope to stand on par with Bakugo… not when everything Bakugo had said was true. I have killed people with my quirk. My hands are stained with blood that will never wash away._

People believed in him now, thought he could do good, could _be_ good.

It confused him.

How could they help him from the wreckage of his own quirk, and then turn around and say this carnage wasn't his fault?

God, it was frustrating. His mind was a maze of thoughts, and everyone led him to a dead end. He didn't know what to think, how to feel, he just wanted to disappear. While it didn't solve anything, he couldn't take the phantom judgment of his own vicious thoughts.

He had done something good at USJ though, right? Hadn't they caught the bad guy? Izuku _wanted_ , he really wanted to say that his quirk had helped… but then, maybe that was just dumb luck or the superior instincts of seasoned pros, not _his_ quirk's work.

Cursing people was… how would he ever know if it ever truly worked? Or maybe he did help, but not as much as he hurt. The payoff was never worth the cost.

He needed to just… just stop.

For a moment, he needed to not think about things, because it just…

It was just—

He heard footsteps from behind the door.

Izuku turned his head to see it open.

"I keep telling you guys not to go past your limits, but do you ever listen to me? No, and look where it's gotten you. Honestly, Shouta, I expect this from All Might, but not you," Recovery girl's voice chided.

He heard the gruff voice of his teacher respond as the two walked in, "Yes well, I didn't have much of a choice at the time."

Recovery girl's expression was pretty standard, maybe a little miffed, but mostly just concerned.

Aizawa's appearance on the other hand was… not what he had been expecting. Bandages everywhere. He was a living, walking mummy. Like, he literally looked like a mummy, honest to god, and Izuku couldn't resist it. The temptation was too thrilling, it was in his nature.

"Abdul?"

Both Recovery Girl and Aizawa turned to face him. They said nothing, but their faces said it all, they were both mildly annoyed and confused. Clearly they didn't think it was the time for jokes and games, but really, Izuku liked it. It distracted him from his own thoughts.

"Mohammed?"

They remained quiet.

"... Bob?" The inflection in his voice was perfect, a knowing tilt at the end to perfectly portray the curious, but unbelieving nature of the question.

This time Aizawa gave him a knowing look, somewhat peeved, but mostly just exasperated. He shook his head in dismay.

Recovery Girl was the first one to comment, "It looks like you're feeling better."

He nodded. "Yeah… my injuries don't really hurt all that much anymore…" his voice was a little too airy to be considered convincing.

He did feel fine, physically… but the words Bakugo had said still lingered in his brain. He wasn't sure if he was _that_ okay at the moment.

Now that the jokingness and novelty of Aizawa's mummification had all but left, Izuku realized how bad of condition his teacher was in. With bandages everywhere, it was a wonder he was able to move at all. His eyes wavered in concern. "Aizawa… you don't… you don't look so good. Are you sure you should be up and moving?"

Aizawa looked ready to reply, but Recovery Girl cut him off, "No, he certainly is not. He should be in bed resting, but," she let the word drag, enriching it with her disapproval, "he insisted I heal him up faster so that he's ready to teach you come Monday."

Aizawa deadpanned, "I'm not going to miss class on Monday just because some B-rate villains and their pet bested me. It's not that bad, I was able to give a statement to the press. I'm certain they'll be hounding me for a few more days for comments though."

Izuku flinched unbiddenly at the mention of what happened at USJ. Of course, Yuuei would have to speak out about it… Villains had attacked, and there was a casualty… a student casualty. It just… it hurt to hear it stated as a fact, as their reality.

"Actually, Midoriya," Aizawa gave him a pensive look, one that had him on edge, "I know you won't want to hear this, but I'm afraid it's a possibility that you may be asked to comment about the incident since you were there… and one of the few people to witness the actual death of Mineta Minoru."

Izuku's breathing hitched.

He would have to _talk_ about that? To reporters and the police?

He could feel the color draining from his face. "I-I don't—"

"I know you don't want to, and I'm not asking you to. I am merely stating that it is a possibility, though both All Might and I will try and cover for both you and Tsuyu as much as we can."

That's… that's right, Tsuyu was there to, she saw everything. Actually, she had been closer to the nomu than he had. She had been in more danger than him really, during that time. The thought sickened him.

He wondered how she was holding up.

He wanted to change the subject, he didn't want to think about it anymore. Izuku just wasn't ready to think about it yet. "So, uh, Recovery girl… when my mom gets back, I can just leave, right? There isn't anything else I need to do or anything?" He really just wanted to get out of there. Being in the infirmary all day had been exhausting, and while his injuries sided more on the minor side in terms lethality, he still wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep.

Recovery Girl gave him a knowing smile. "No, dear, once your mother returns, you're free to go home. I can prescribe you some pain meds for your shoulder as it will more than likely be sore and ache for a while, but otherwise just get some rest and take it easy for a few days and you should be fine."

Izuku nodded. That was manageable, he could do that. He let his head rest down on his pillow. There wasn't anything else he could do really besides wait.

Aizawa, after taking some medication from Recovery girl, left, telling him to get better soon and that he would see him on Monday. Izuku had just nodded mutely in return. He was exhausted, despite the fact that he hadn't done much all day, he felt as though he could sleep for a week.


	10. Things to Come

AN: I know it's been so long, I'm so sorry. Life just got super bust for me and I didn't have time to get this done. But I should be able to write more now and give updates sooner, hopefully. But anyway, I hope you enjoy :D

Also, huge shoutout to my beta because, as always, she's awesome!

* * *

"But we're such little creatures. Poor Humanity's so fragile, so weak. Little… little animals."

* * *

The villain looked annoyed, that's what Toshinori thought as he eyed him from beyond the one-way mirror. He looked plainly annoyed, not aggravated, or even hostile. It was as though being caught was just an inconvenience to him. It made Toshinori's blood boil. He knew villains were vile and held little remorse, but this one was different. He couldn't put a pin on it, but there was something sinister lurking, a shadow looming over this villain—something about this villain was different from others...

He was missing something here.

Toshinori watched silently from behind the glass, glaring with luminescent blue eyes, as Naomasa interrogated the villain. Catching him had been easy, almost too easy, and Toshinori couldn't help but feel as though something were bound to go wrong. There was a foreboding sense that lingered, something foul, but strikingly tangible.

Toshinori was startled out of his musings by a dull bang from within the interrogation room.

The villain looked angered now, his red eyes glaring, and his hands straining against the quirk suppressant cuffs that were attached to the table. Toshinori noticed that Naomasa looked startled as well, his face perplexed, but quickly masked into a state of professional neutralism.

Toshinori didn't know exactly what was being said, but he had a fairly good idea, and it made his blood boil. Villains like this… the truly demented ones were born from the darkest pits and molded by the cruelness of society.

As a hero, Toshinori had seen it before… villains created by society's flaws—they were often the most dangerous ones, the most radical and Toshinori knew, just knew, that the villain they had captured was one of them. That look in his eyes told Toshinori as much, they were savage and angry, but there was an undeniable fire raging in them. He didn't know what the villain wanted, what his ideals were or his 'vision', but Toshinori knew they were there. Ideas to shape society, to 'fix' it.

The world was flawed, of course, Toshinori knew this. There were many things wrong with society, but the radical movements these villains always had in mind were never the answer.

A dull thud emanated from within the room, the villain had lost his cool and slammed his ironclad fists against the table. Naomasa remained calm as a rage surfaced on the villains face. He said something… but because thick glass between him and the interrogation room, Toshinori couldn't make out what he was saying.

Toshinori had to give him credit though, for no matter how precarious the villain, Naomasa was always able to keep his cool. Toshinori thought it might have to do with his quirk; being a human lie detector made his job so much easier, and well… it had to be easier to take threats when you could always call their bluff.

Not long after the villain's outburst, Naomasa curtly rose from his seat, gathered his things and left the villain alone—cuffed and seething.

"Did you get anything out of him?" Toshinori questioned once Naomasa exited the interrogation room.

"Yeah… or well, not much. He was pretty tight-lipped; smarter than he looks," Naomasa said. He looked pensively at Toshinori as if deciding whether to divulge something, before shaking his head and turning to walk away. "Either way, we've definitely got enough info on him to lock him up for a long time."

Toshinori noticed his hesitation but decided not to comment on it. If Naomasa thought it best to leave him in the dark then that was that, most of that information was confidential anyway and really, he was lucky to be given access to this knowledge.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the two, the villain let a crooked smile mar his face as they left. He was in higher spirits now that they had gone and left him alone—a fatal mistake on their part. They hadn't noticed it… but he had. When he had banged the table earlier, by some lucky miracle, the cuffs that they had adorned on him had malfunctioned. He had noticed earlier that there was something off about these cuffs, they weren't working quite as they should have, but for some reason, they had still worked well enough to restrict his quirk, but now… it seems his luck was turning. He could feel the low thrum of electricity that kept the quirk suppressants flowing through the metal; it was growing dim.

There was a small green light on the side of the cuffs. When on it meant that the cuffs were activated… and now it was blinking. First lethargically, but now rapidly until the blinking ceased altogether, and the green light faded from existence. The thrum halted, and there was a barely audible click from within.

He could feel his quirk returning to him. A cold plague that washed through his veins in an icy flare.

The villain knew better than to think this was anything more than a stroke of luck, a miracle even, but even so, luck or not, it gave him an opportunity, one he would be a fool not to seize. These _heroes_ would come to regret this day, he would make sure of it.

* * *

Izuku was sitting on the couch, with the TV on in the background, but he wasn't watching it, instead, his attention was turned to Shichi. He watched with amusement as she raced back and forth across the living room playing with one of her toys. She would spastically run one way, chasing the small ball, only to try and stop—which often led her to trip over her paws—and switch directions after swatting at it. Shichi was by far one of the most boisterous and energetic cats he had ever met. She had been going at this for what felt like forever, and Izuku was surprised—surprised was an understatement—she was able to keep the energy up for so long.

It was actually kind of, in a really weird way, relaxing to watch Shichi play. She had been all over him when he got home last night, never leaving him for more than a few minutes, but now her full attention was on that small ball as it rolled about the apartment. It was amusing to watch, and he didn't have to do anything. He was still beyond tired, but it was nice to be back home.

This week had been a disaster.

It had started out fine, sure, but now… now only regret and sorrow filled his mind. So much had happened so fast, and Izuku didn't really know how to cope with it.

It would be fine, he reasoned, because it would… eventually. Not right now though, right now the scar was still fresh, and it was bitter. It was brutal and harsh, and it reminded him of how cruel reality could be.

Izuku sighed wearily and slumped against the couch. His mind weighed heavily on him. No matter how many times he, and others, said otherwise, he would still feel as though he had caused or at least been part of the reason as to how things ended up at USJ.

His quirk was bad luck, he couldn't deny that, and so it begged the question—it always begged the question—as to how much his quirk influenced the events that transpired. His eyes felt heavy; he let a hand drag over them before closing them as the TV droned in the background, it's thrum nothing but static in his ears.

It was all so… so… _frustrating_. Because it wasn't black and white, his quirk operated in the gray. It made everything so complicated. It was one thing if he _knew_ exactly how he caused something, it was an entirely different thing to never be able to say definitively what part he played in any given event. It diminished his accomplishments while heightening his failures… _it really was a cursed quirk._ No matter how he thought about it… his quirk… it was only a curse.

His thoughts were trampled, literally, by something (Shichi he deduced) jumping on him. He opened his eyes, green meeting gold as she stared at him with wide, curious eyes. For a moment they remained there in silence, him lying on the couch while Shichi stayed poised on his chest. Then she mewed. It was soft, but demanding. He took the hint and positioned himself (with Shichi clinging to him, refusing to remove herself from his chest) to a better position to pet her.

The moment didn't last long. He was petting her absentmindedly, a comforting distraction, when, for what seemed like no reason she stood stalk still, her tail standing erect as she stared at the door. Without a moment's notice, Shichi decided she needed to investigate the door and jumped off of him, sprinting to the door. Izuku didn't have to wonder what had gotten into her for long, as almost as soon as she made it to the door there was a knock.

Perplexed, he looked at the clock. It was a little past noon… which meant that it was probably Uraraka and Iida. They said they would stop by at noon (he hadn't thought it to be so late, but time must have slipped his mind watching Shichi). A smile crept over Izuku's features then.

"Just a minute," he called out, getting up from the couch.

Shichi was waiting patiently by the door.

This was the first time Izuku had ever had people— _friends_ —come over to hang out with him. He recalled once, when he was a kid, he had invited a few classmates over to his apartment (this had been right around the time his classmates were developing their quirks, and he was still deemed quirkless at the time, though it must be noted that he was known to be rather unlucky at times). He hadn't been buddy-buddy with anyone then, still following Bakugo like a puppy (who Izuku, at the time, had still called him by his nickname, Kacchan), but nobody hated him yet either.

A few classmates had agreed to come over, given that their parents were okay with it.

His mom had been ecstatic to hear that he had invited some classmates over. Everything had been set: time, date, food, etcetera. Izuku hadn't invited Bakugo then; he had tried, but Bakugo declined before he could even finish the first sentence. In the end, there were three classmates that had agreed to come over; none of them actually did.

One kid's mom had called his mom to tell her that they couldn't make it because their car's engine had stalled.

Another canceled on the grounds that the family pet had run off, chasing a car down the street.

And the third called it off because his sister's quirk had just manifested in the form of blazing fire from her fingers, setting their livingroom on fire.

On their own, these were things that could have happened to anyone at any time, but having them all occur within twenty minutes of each other had left Izuku wondering if it had all just been coincidence. These sorts of things seemed to be isolated events that only ever occurred when _he_ was involved. It was a few short months after that incident that he was finally able to put two and two together and realize that his quirk just happened to, unfortunately, be bad luck. After that, no one wanted anything to do with him.

Now though, as he was starting to realize with startling clarity, things were different… in a good way too. Uraraka and Iida had both proven to actually care about him. They didn't just feel obligated to spend time with him, they _wanted_ to and that meant the world to him.

* * *

They had agreed to meet at noon, Tenya thought as he and Uraraka made their way up the steps to Midoriya's apartment, and it was already twenty past noon. It wasn't like him to be late, and he had planned accordingly, right down to when he would join up with Uraraka and the route they would take to his apartment. What he hadn't accounted for, and in hindsight, he would see the humor in the nature of their tardiness in relation to Midoriya's quirk (though it was all coincidental), was that on their way they would be stopped at _every_ traffic light (the last time being due to a fender bender that they had just missed witnessing), nor did he account for the train being stalled because someone thought it funny to pull the emergency lever.

It was really a miracle that they ended up being only twenty minutes late with the fiasco on the train and the minor fender bender that halted traffic about two blocks from Izuku's apartment, but it still put Tenya in a disgruntled mood.

Tenya was a punctual person, never arriving late, always early. He got it from his brother, the hero Ingenium, who had also always been a punctual person in nature. Learning from his older sibling, Tenya had always shown up to events precisely when one should, which for him translated to anywhere between ten minutes to half an hour early, depending on the event, respectively. Better to be early than late was a mantra his brother had drilled into him from a tender age.

So, it had come much to Tenya's chagrin to find himself at Midoriya's door half an hour _after_ he had said he would be there.

"This is my first time at Midoriya's apartment," Uraraka said from beside him.

"The same goes for me," he replied. "It's unfortunate that we ended up being so late—"

"That wasn't our fault though… we were just… unlucky," Uraraka defended, then stopped, contemplation taking over her features. "It's kinda funny actually," she started, "if you think about it." She looked at him expectantly.

"I fail to see the humor in our failure to be on time."

Her eyes flashed mirthfully, "No see, it _is._ Cause like, think about it: Midoriya's quirk is bad luck, and we just happened to be struck by an awful bout of it on our way to _his_ apartment."

This was an interesting parallel, to say the least. "Surely you're not implying this was Midoriya's doing…" he inquired quizzically. It seemed out of character for Midoriya to have purposely caused them such inconveniences when he had been the one to invite them over in the first place.

"Oh no, of course not," Uraraka defended, "Deku would never do something like that, I don't think, I just thought it was a funny coincidence is all."

Tenya nodded his head. It was quite an interesting coincidence, but a coincidence was all it was.

They made their way to Midoriya's floor, and Tenya knocked on the door. From inside, he could hear the shuffling of someone encroaching upon the door, but it wasn't Midoriya like he had thought, instead he heard the muffled mrows of what could only be Shichi.

Barely a moment after they heard the cries of Shichi, there came the softened voice of Midoriya telling them he would be just a minute.

There was a thud (the kind of thud you hear when someone trips over something), followed by the sound of a lock and the door opening. Before Midoriya could get a word out, Shichi charged forward, not even batting an eye at either of them, before she bounded down the stairs and presumably outside.

"Shichi—" Midoriya gave an exasperated sigh, "Well, I suppose she's been cooped up in here all day…"

"Hello Midoriya, sorry for our tardiness," Tenya said.

"We just had the worst luck," Uraraka supplied, though despite what she said, there was a grin on her face.

Midoriya startled at them, but composed himself well enough. "No, no, you're not that late… sorry 'bout your bad luck."

A grim line made a presence on his face, but Uraraka chirped i,. "It's not like it's _your_ fault, Deku. Just cause bad luck is your quirk, doesn't mean _all_ bad luck is your fault. Besides, we got here easy enough, didn't we Iida?"

Nodding his head, Tenya said, "Yes, though we were caught in a bit of traffic, we managed to make it here as quickly as we could."

Tenya was glad to see Midoriya's downcast expression turn to something more jovial as he opened the door and gestured for them to enter.

Midoriya's apartment was small but homely; cat toys littered the floor in disarray, courtesy of Shichi no doubt, and though everything else in the quaint apartment was put away, there was a lived-in quality to how things had been haphazardly put away. There was one shelf on the right of the TV stand that had movies stacked away recklessly, as though movies were often pulled from the shelves only to be put back at random.

"Sorry for the mess, " Midoriya said, gesturing to all the cat toys strewn about the floor, "Shichi doesn't usually stay with us, but since we're good friends with her owners, they asked if we could watch her while they're away…"

"You needn't worry about it, Midoriya," Tenya said. Though he did not have a cat of his own, the boisterous energy that Shichi presented on the few occasions she had been in his company led him to believe that she would be difficult to keep tame in an enclosed space.

"How long has Shichi been staying with you?" Uraraka asked.

Midoriya scrunched up his features in contemplation. "A few days? I think Susan asked my mom about it while we were at USJ…" he trailed off somberly.

"Oh," Uraraka said, "that must have been nice to come home to though… right?"

Midoriya nodded. "Anyway, you guys don't have to stand there, make yourself at home…" He gestured to the couch and chair in the living room.

Tenya moved to the couch while Uraraka made her way over to the chair adjacent to him. Midoriya looked a little nervous and unsure about what to do now. Tenya realized Midoriya had mentioned the other day that he hadn't really ever had friends over.

"You mentioned watching some movies. Were there any you had in mind?" Midoriya asked.

"No, I figured you'd have some that I'd never heard of that could be interesting," Urarake cut in, quickly making her way to the shelf stocked full of movies, looking through the titles, "and I was right, you have quite a bit… Modern Times… this doesn't look very modern… Citizen Kane… sounds boring, Jaws… that one sounds familiar, but I don't think I've ever seen it. Say," she turned to look at Midoriya, with a small selection of movies in her hands, "are all of these movies from America?" She held up a few titles that were written in English, seemingly from America.

Midoriya shook his head, "No, not _all_ of them… but a lot of them are I guess. Susan, the one who took Shichi in, she's American, and she gave me—well my mom—most of these movies a long time ago."

"Interesting that your neighbor would give you so many movies," Uraraka remarked.

"Well, Susan isn't really our neighbor, she lives down the block a bit, but ever since she took in Shichi all those years back, she's been a good friend of ours. She used to watch me when I was little. When I would stay with her while my mom was working, she'd let me watch some of the older movies if they were appropriate of course, and I grew to like them so she let me keep a few that she didn't watch anymore, and over time I just ended up with a lot.

"That's nice of her to do that. And so you've been with Shichi for quite some time then."

"Yep."

Tenya had assumed that Shichi was a younger cat, given how energetic she was, but it seemed there was a bit of history between Shichi, her owners, and Midoriya that went back years. He decided to voice these thoughts, "How old is Shichi? I was under the impression, based on her outgoingness that she was younger than you've implied."

"Oh, that," Izuku stopped, thinking about it for a second before continuing, "yeah… no, I'm not exactly sure, at least eight, possibly nine or ten even. She was a stray when she got hit by a car, that was ten years ago, but I don't know how old she was then… maybe five or six? She definitely wasn't a kitten… but otherwise, I don't really know, sorry." He shrugged.

"No need to be sorry, I was just curious is all. She sure is spry for an older cat though," Tenya noted.

"Yeah, she really is," Izuku chuckled a bit.

"So, did you pick a movie out, Uraraka?" Midoriya brought the attention back to Uraraka who had picked out a stack of movies and was struggling to balance them all.

"Uhh, I think so?" she looked up with a sort of helpless expression, struggling to handle all of the movies she had picked up. "I think I've found some good ones."

Tenya only recognized a few titles she held, the rest were unfamiliar to him. Midoriya did have quite a collection, most of them being older from generations ago instead of newer films. In fact, from what Tenya could see, it looked like most of his movie collection was from before quirks had existed.

Uraraka brought over her sample of movies and laid them out on the coffee table in front of the couch. "Okay, these ones all looked interesting," she said, gesturing to the movies.

Midoriya nodded his head, "Yeah, you picked out some good ones, although I think most of these movies are good. You guys can pick one out, I don't care which one we watch."

Tenya and Uraraka looked at the movies Uraraka had picked out—Tenya didn't particularly care which one they watched either, he was sure each of the films had their merits. Before long, Uraraka had picked one out; Tenya had heard of it, but he had never actually seen before.

"Deku, let's watch this one!" She held the movie up.

* * *

Ochako hadn't known what to expect from the movie, yet two hours, one batch of horribly burnt popcorn, and a movie later found the trio at the end of their first movie, and left her feeling quite confused. That ending had caught her so off guard. "So… he was dead the entire time? And the kid could see ghosts? So like, that was his quirk?"

"Well, not exactly. Yeah, Malcolm was dead the entire time… but I don't think Cole being able to see ghosts was a quirk, because this was made before quirks existed so it was more like a supernatural phenomenon." Midoriya said, moving to take the DVD out and put a new movie in (shortly after Ochako had picked out the first one, Iida, and then Midoriya, had each picked out a movie to watch next).

"When I first saw this movie, it was one of the first movies I'd seen from America actually, I didn't really get it. Like—" Deku stopped to think about it for a second "—I understood the plot, but the idea of quirks being… well not the usual was different. It was odd to see someone with powers being seen as an outcast. Back then, when this movie was made, quirks didn't exist yet, so the thought of someone having powers of any sort was foreign to them… but now almost the exact opposite is true: it's weird to _not_ have a quirk. And I don't know… something about that intrigued me I guess."

Ochako nodded her head, "I can understand that, Deku. It was a really good movie. I totally didn't see that twist coming," she laughed.

"I found it obvious that he was dead the entire time, though, I will admit that I have seen parts of the movie before, as my brother likes to watch these kinds of movies," Iida added in, "but, it was executed extremely well so I can see how if you didn't know what to look for, you'd miss the clues."

"Yeah, I guess looking back on it, it's rather obvious," Ochako contemplated drearily, before smiling again, and adding in with a smile, "but I guess that's why they say hindsight is twenty-twenty, right?"

"Precisely," Deku agreed, nodding his head.

* * *

Though they had already picked out a few more movies to watch, Izuku noticed Iida was eyeing his movie collection. "You know, Midoriya, though your collection dwarfs my brother's, I think you two would really get along talking about these movies. I recognize some of them from his stacks of movies."

"Yeah?" Izuku perked up at that. It wasn't often that he met people who shared his love for older movies.

"Tensei, my brother, we used to have a movie night every Friday when I was younger, but since he became a pro hero, we haven't been able to have one."

"Wait, wait, wait, your brother is a pro-hero?"He couldn't keep the adoration out of his voice.

"Oh, that's really cool," Uraraka added, her own enthusiasm spreading into her voice.

Iida just nodded his head, "Yes, his hero name is Ingenium, you might have heard of—"

"Of course!" Izuku interjected, "It makes perfect sense. Why didn't I realize it sooner? With your quirk, it should have been obvious that your brother was Iida Tensei, Ingenium!"

"Woah, your brother is Ingenium?" Uraraka practically had stars in her eyes. "That's so cool. He's so cool, and he's a pretty popular hero isn't he?"

Iida gave a knowing laugh at that, "Yeah, I believe he is quite popular among the masses, however, I must add that since I've lived with him for my entire life, I can attest to the fact that he's not as suave as he presents himself." Iida's voice, though filled with pride, had the barest hint of mischievousness to it that was both unbefitting and rare, for Iida. "There was one time when I was five where I saw him practicing a new move in the house, and he face-planted into some cabinets."

Uraraka started to laugh, "No way, that's too funny. I can't imagine someone like Ingenium ever being so… so ungraceful."

Iida nodded his head, "He may come off as a cool and elegant hero, but his hero persona and natural self are very different. For instance, Ingenium is always polite and courteous, and while that's just Tensei's personality, if you ever happen to join him for a trivia night, as he just so happens to thrive there, you will find that polite and courteous are not words you would use to describe him."

"Wait," Izuku said, getting up from the floor, "so you're telling me that the hero Ingenium not only likes old movies but also knows a bunch of trivia?" He couldn't help the excitement that flooded into his voice. "I _have_ to write this down in my hero notebook! This is first-hand knowledge on a pro-hero!"

He quickly left to grab his notebook from his room, only stumbling thrice over his own feet, before returning to both Iida and Uraraka. Haphazardly, he flipped to his page on Ingenium and wrote down what he had learned.

"You're actually writing that stuff down?" Uraraka asked disbelievingly.

Slowly nodding, Izuku stopped writing. "Yes? I mean, all information is valuable information when analyzing heroes… You never know when this knowledge will come in handy, plus it's neat to learn about a hero's hobbies and passions."

"I guess that makes sense," Uraraka agreed. "What kind of information do you have on other heroes then?"

Izuku's eyes lit up at the question. He wasn't used to people being enthused by his hero analysis notebook, usually, people laughed at it, or in Bakugo's case, they blew it up. This was a welcome change, and he took it in stride, telling them all about how he came about some of his tidbits and facts on each hero. He even went so far as to tell them what he had written down in his book about their quirks.

The conversation soon took hold of them, and, instead of watching movies as they had planned to, they just talked, talked about anything and everything. The sun had started its final stretch towards the horizon when the conversation hit a lull.

"It's getting kind of late, isn't it?" Uraraka sighed as she glanced out the window.

"Time flies when you're having fun, or so the saying goes," Iida said.

Izuku couldn't help but agree, with both their statements. Time had flown, and it was getting a bit late. "It is getting a bit late, isn't it?" he reiterated. Izuku looked over at the stack of movies that they had planned to watch but never got around to. "We never did get around to watching any more movies, I'm sorry, I got a bit distracted—"

"There's no need to apologize, Deku, it was fun," Uraraka said, "besides, this just means we'll have to do this again sometime!"

Iida nodded his head in agreement. "Though, I would suggest that next time we don't let you make the popcorn, Midoriya."

Both Iida and Uraraka got up from where they were sitting and started to help put the movies back and throw away any garbage that was left out.

Izuku looked at the remnants of the burnt popcorn he had made earlier sheepishly before moving to throw it out. "It's not my fault it burnt," he defended weakly.

They gave him a pointed look.

"Okay… maybe don't let me make the popcorn next time," he relented. He didn't really mind though, if anything, it had been comical how badly he had burnt the popcorn earlier—he hadn't even known it was possible to light it on fire.

Once they had finished putting everything away, Iida and Uraraka made their way to the door.

"This was really fun, Deku, but we really should get going," Uraraka said.

Iida nodded his head. "We'll see you on Monday, Midoriya."

A smile lit Izuku's face as they left. He was happy; the two were really good friends, and despite his overall bad luck, he considered himself lucky to have them.

* * *

A few hours had passed and it was getting late now. While Izuku had enjoyed the company of his friends, he couldn't help but wonder where Shichi had gone off to. She liked to be outside, yes, but usually, she was back by dark, or at least, his mom had told him to make sure she was back by dark since they were watching her. But it was late now and dark out, very dark… Shichi wasn't known to be a very lucky cat, so the thought of her being out there at night put him on edge.

Both Iida and Uraraka had left a while ago. He was glad they had come over, it had been fun being able to hang out with them, especially after what had happened. Really, he wasn't looking forward to going back to school on Monday... He had needed the distraction his friends offered.

And now, he really would appreciate it if Shichi came back soon—if she didn't come back soon he'd have to go out looking for her, which he didn't mind, but it'd be better if he didn't have to.

His mom had already gone to bed, having come home later than she had expected noticeably exhausted, and after he assured her he would make sure Shichi came home before he went to sleep, she had gone off to bed. Really, he was tired too, but he needed to make sure Shichi got home safely before he could even think about sleeping.

Pacing about the apartment he was so caught up in his worry that he _almost_ didn't hear the soft pawing at the window. But he did hear it, and he immediately stopped his pacing and turned to face the window. His apartment was on the third story, and while there was a balcony outside that a cat could feasibly get to, it was a lot easier for one to walk up the stairs to the front door (unless, of course, said cat couldn't make it into the front door of the apartment building).

From the pitch blackness outside, there were two golden slits that almost glowed in opposition of the midnight surrounding them. All in all, it was actually a creepy sight, if not for the fact that upon his green eyes meeting the golden ones, a high pitched, almost pity-worthy, mew came from the window sill. Shichi's mew turned into a yowl, and she continued to yowl an ear-splitting scream until Izuku unlatched the window and let her in.

"Wake the whole neighborhood why don't you," he commented as she slinked her way into the apartment.

Shichi, the ever incorrigible cat, seemed to shrug at his woe. Her tail swayed and her shoulders oscillated in tandem making her look like the diva cat she was.

Izuku just shook his head. Shichi was a peculiar cat, and he wasn't about to question her antics now, not after having been with her for so many years now. However, when she brushed against his calf, and her fur felt… sticky, like she'd soaked herself in soda all night, he did question that, knowing of course that she couldn't answer him anyway.

"Shichi…" he waited for her to stop and turn her attention to him before continuing, "what happened to you? Why is your fur sticky and…" he stopped as the smell of smoke and alcohol filled the air, "why does it smell like you just came from a bar?"

He wasn't expecting an answer because no matter how talkative she was, Shichi _was_ just a cat, he wasn't going to get any answers from her. He supposed he never actually knew where Shichi went when she went exploring, but she had never come home smelling as if she had just come from a bar fight, then marinated herself in rum littered with cigarettes, then strolled through back alley trash cans on her way home before. He felt like he had a right to question her antics this time. Although, he did suppose that she didn't stay with him all that often so maybe it wasn't all that odd. Still, regardless of how often Shichi apparently frequented the bars (doing what, he had no idea), he wasn't going to let her continue to smell of one.

"Shichi, you know if you're going to come home smelling like that, you'll need a bath, right?" Her ears twitched at the mention of a bath. Being a cat meant she bathed herself, but sometimes, like now, self bathing wasn't enough.

As soon as Izuku tried to nab her, she bolted. It became a game of cat and mouse… or well, cat and cat, with Izuku trying to be as quiet as he could so as not to wake up his mother. In the end, his endurance outlasted Shichi's, and he caught her unawares, much to her dismay.

She yowled pitifully as Izuku brought her to the bathroom to give her a bath. Izuku chided her, knowing full well that she probably didn't understand what he was saying. "It's your own fault Shichi… if you're going to come home smelling like you've lived in a bar all your life, then you're going to need a bath."

Even if she couldn't understand exactly what he was saying, Izuku thought she got the gist of it as she just mewed in resignation and let Izuku give her a bath without much of a fuss—though she did glare at him every so often with her molten eyes.

* * *

AN: ahh I hope you enjoyed this shorter chapter, the next one is almost done.

Until next time, Vera~


	11. That Darn Cat!

AN: This is a shorter chapter than usual, but I think it's a fitting length for what happens in this chapter. I think it's time we give dear old Shichi, the mischevious mongrel of a cat, her time in the spotlight to showcase her little adventures. :D

* * *

"'You mean you want me to tail the cat as if he's a person?'

'Unless it would be easier to tail him as a cat.'"

* * *

It must be announced that Shichi was not a simple cat. Unruly and restless were her two prominent features, but resourceful and reckless would also be apt descriptors of her nature. As it stood, Shichi had a plethora of traits… her most resounding trait being pure chaotic energy.

Before Shichi had adorned the name Shichi, she was just an average stray, wandering the streets looking for scraps to stay alive. Well, average might not be the best description for her. She was… eccentric. Very, _very_ eccentric.

Shichi knew she was different from other cats. She knew how she was different, and even to an extent _why_ she wasn't like others of her kind. Having only three legs, of course, put her apart from other cats, but this was different, this was something that alienated her from other cats, which in turn, had caused her to stray away from other cats.

But other cats were a small matter, she had never been inclined to find herself in the company of her kind—she was content with being a loner cat, at least she had before she met the green-haired boy. Izuku was his name, she had heard his mom call him that many times before.

Izuku had saved her that fateful night when that car hit her. Shichi didn't like remembering that night, it made her leg ache, the missing one. She was grateful to him, but it was more than that. She related to him…

Cursed. That word had been thrown around a lot that night, she heard him say that he was cursed, that it was his fault. Shichi knew that wasn't true—he had saved her, and not only from that car. Shichi may not have minded the isolation associated with being a loner, but that didn't mean she didn't like company at all. In fact, she really liked the company he provided. He felt safe.

* * *

Shichi, while entertained for the moment, wanted out. Being cooped up in a small apartment all day wasn't her idea of fun—actually, she didn't even want to be entertained right now, she wanted answers. Izuku had been mopey all day, and she wanted to know why. Why was he sad? Who made him sad? _Who were the sad-makers that made him sad?_ She didn't need a catnap, she needed answers! Don't get her wrong, she was always happy to comfort him, but it was better if he wasn't sad at all.

Shichi had been trying to figure out what had happened the other day to cause him to be so down, but no one was talking about it. She had even bothered Inko until she brought her to the nurse's room at Izuku's school so she could see him. She had gotten little bits and pieces, but she needed more. All she really knew was something caused her boy to be sad, and she needed to know who, or what caused it so she could fix it.

The problem was no one was talking about it, at least not when she was present it seemed; she needed to investigate on her own if she wanted to find out anything for herself. This meant she had to get out of the apartment… which wasn't working in her favor.

Her ears twitched as she heard someone, two someones actually by the sounds of it, walk through the hallway. They stopped abruptly… right in front of their door. Come to think of it… last night she had overheard a conversation between Izuku and Inko, something about his friends (Shichi really liked Uraraka, she knew just where to scratch when she pet her) coming to visit.

This was her chance! Once Izuku opened the door she could bolt. After that, she would have to wander around the city looking for answers, but she was sure she could do it, she needed to know what had caused her boy to be sad.

As sneakily as she could, she waited for Izuku to open the door. Her tail twitched in anticipation as she settled down on her haunches, ready to pounce.

The moment the door moved she pounced, sprinting out the door and down the hall. She didn't stop to look back, to see if they had chased after her (she doubted they would since her boy knew she liked to roam a lot), she ran and ran until she slammed straight into the door with a pitiful mew.

Shaking her head and scrunching her nose she glared at the closed door in front of her. Well that was different, the door should have been open. It was always open when she came through here… this was a disgrace. An absolute disgrace.

She huffed in annoyance, her tail twitched indignantly, and she paced about the door like an angry lion (which at the moment she likened herself to).

Soon enough though, someone did walk by and open the door, not minding her—or even noticing the small furry ball of black fury—at all as they walked past. The moment the door was open wide enough, she sprinted through it and out into the world.

The world was hers to explore.

And explore she did.

* * *

Shcihi ambled along a cobblestone path, pawing at the small rocks, swatting and batting them back and forth. It wasn't what she would call exciting, but it did keep her distracted long enough for her to call it addictive. She might be an addict to swatting rocks now, with how long it had kept her attention.

She couldn't help it, it was a mindless task, but she just _had_ to swat the rock one more time, and then once more, and so on and so forth, until hours had passed, and she no longer knew where she was.

She stopped for a moment to take in her surroundings. Nope… she was not anywhere near home. the smell of fresh sea salt assaulted her nose and caused her to cringe. She had never been one for the sea. A huge mass of water with seemingly no end? No thank you. Shichi preferred her fur dry and soft. But still, the sand by the water had never bothered her, and so she ventured closer to the water's edge.

The waves licked at her paws, but she moved out of their way before they could ever taint her dainty paws with the muck of the sea.

She heard the cries of the seagulls and wondered idly if any of those bird-brained water-pidgeons would be up for a catfight. She liked fisticuff fights with birds, it was always a good time. But seeing as the closer she walked to them the farther they flew, it seemed no fighting would be had for her tonight.

Just as she started to walk along a few rocks, a huge wave crashed down and sprayed her with water. She stood stalk still, blatantly glaring at the ocean. If it weren't for the fact that water wasn't sentient, she would have fought the ocean by now. But since fighting the ocean was not an option, she settled on twitching her tail, hissing at the endless sea-void, before bounding away from the sandy area.

She'd wander somewhere else for now, somewhere with less ocean. She wasn't sure where she would go now, but the day was not out and so her adventure would continue.

* * *

Kurogiri was a lot of things. He was a villain, and often it felt as though he was the only mature one in the League of Villains. He was a great bartender, it had been his job before Shigaraki had come to him with an offer he couldn't refuse. Kurogiri didn't think he was a bad guy though, despite being a villain, he was pretty courteous and overall pleasant—or so he would say.

He didn't necessarily go out of his way to help people… but, sometimes, if he felt like it, he wouldn't go out of his way to _not help_ someone, depending of course on the effort he was willing to give. Mostly, he just turned a blind eye to things. He wasn't one for causing a scene when it wasn't necessary or in his best interest.

Kurogiri wasn't willing to do anything that might hurt the image of the League of Villains though, no matter what, upholding their values came first.

Though, his quirk did make him a little… well, noticeable, and since he _was_ a wanted villain, he was restricted to strolling about the streets at ungodly hours. It wasn't all bad though, because it meant that he wouldn't have to deal with stupid people.

As he was walking he heard something come up behind him, a shuffling that alerted him that he wasn't alone.

He stopped.

"Whoever you are, I would advise you to leave me alone. Walk away." He really wasn't in the mood for a confrontation.

When he didn't hear any movement he sighed, so they were going to be like _that_.

"Look, if you don't just walk away now, I'm afraid you're really not—"

He turned, only to find no one standing behind him. Instead, sitting contently, as if watching a performance, was a cat. A lone, black cat.

Kurogiri sighed… he had just threatened a cat… and the cat even had the audacity to _not_ be intimidated by him.

Said cat looked at him with wide eyes, slim gold irises wrapping around huge pupils that reflected the light a little too much, and mrowed innocently, but Kurogiri knew… the cat was mocking him.

Or maybe he was overthinking it.

It was just a cat, after all.

The cat stood up, displaying only three legs, which caught Kurogiri off-guard. The cat only had three legs…. How pitiful.

Perhaps, he could show some mercy to the stray feline; he may be a villain, but it was hardly worth it to extend that job to a cat, besides, he wasn't _evil,_ just amoral.

The cat was obviously well versed in the handlings of humans, because it didn't so much as flinch when Kurogiri took a step forward. Instead, it sat there almost expectantly.

Kurogiri decided he like this cat.

* * *

Kurogiri took it back, he didn't like this cat.

Right now he was in the midst of a staring contest with said cat, his vaporous yellow eyes glaring down its molten gold with contempt. The cat stared back, sitting regally on the bar, taunting the shot glass in front of it.

Kurogiri glared at the cat. "Don't you dare."

Still staring at him with honeydew eyes, the cat slowly, as if to deliberately mock him, raised its paw and thwapped the shot glass off the bar, shattering it on the ground.

"Goddammit, cat! That is the _fourth_ glass you've knocked over."

In response, the cat whipped its tail back and forth and mrowed innocently.

Kurogiri didn't fall for its innocence act this time around—that cat was mocking him, he was sure of it.

"I don't understand why you let that mangy stray in here, Kurogiri," Shigaraki commented.

The cat meowed pitifully as if to exaggerate its helplessness. Its golden eyes melted as they went big, and it stared at him, the lights of the bar reflected expertly in its pupils, making the cat almost seem like its eyes were watering.

Evil. This cat was evil, and not the good kind of evil either.

Shigaraki cast a glare at him and shook his head. "Back to more pressing matters, yeah…" he intoned dolefully.

Dismissing the cat altogether (for which the cat was none too pleased), Kurogiri turned his attention to Shigaraki. "Yes, where were we. Obviously, you escaped, however… the fact that you were caught at all does put a kink in our plans. Have you talked to Master yet?"

"Hmm, yes, it does put our plan on a standstill for now, but no matter it will be dealt with. As for talking with Master yet… no, I haven't, not yet."

Kurogiri regarded Shigaraki with the slightest trepidation now. He had gone quiet, something Shigaraki wasn't known for doing—he was like a kid: loud, zealous, and not at all quiet. Kurogiri would have thought he would be complaining to Master about how things hadn't gone to plan by now, but instead, he was thinking. He hadn't even mentioned the events from the other day.

From the bar, the cat meowed again. He turned to see it perched on one of the bar stools, gold eyes watching curiously and tail swaying lazily. Its head was cocked to the side slightly as if it were trying to understand them.

* * *

Shichi didn't like this.

These people… they were familiar somehow. She didn't know how, but they smelled familiar, and she couldn't put a paw on it. Something was off, and she was going to get to the bottom of it.

That other guy, in the corner, with red eyes… she didn't like him at all. The sight of him made her fur bristle, and her hackles raise unwillingly.

Then the smokey guy mentioned an escape… from where though. Who were these people, and what did they want?

She decided she would sit idly and listen. Be as inconspicuous as she could be, and silently take in the exposition they were providing her.

* * *

Something was up with that cat, Kurogiri knew it, but for now, he would let it be. It wasn't causing any harm, just sitting there… unnervingly still, watching them. _Must be a cat thing_ , he concluded.

He turned his attention back to picking up the shards of glass that the cat had broken as he idly listened to Shigaraki, who had made contact with Master.

"I'm telling you, it was that kid! He did something, he caused us to fail. If it weren't for him and, and… that power of his we would have succeeded," Shigaraki fumed at the screen that master was communicating to them through.

 _There it is. Screaming and yelling like a child, as always,_ Kurogiri thought as he sat by in the background.

The cat was slowly making its way closer to him, cautiously, but steadily.

"Calm down," came the wretched, always calm, voice of Master. "All was not lost here. You managed to kill a child, right in front of them. That blow will weaken them, and if not them, then the publics' belief in them. As for that kid… you say he had a power, a quirk? Do tell, what was this power that caused you to fail?" The master's voice was unnervingly cool, like the stillness of the air before a storm ravages a city.

Malice and a tad bit of insanity ran through Shigaraki's eyes at that moment. "His quirk? It was a cheat! He cheated. He was just standing there, and then all of a sudden nothing went as it was planned. It was like he hacked the system, changed everyone's stats."

Even for the videogame lingo that Shigaraki was so keen on using, Kurogiri thought that was a stretch to say. Something had definitely happened at the USJ, but if it pertained to that kid Shigaraki was going on about, Kurogiri didn't know. All he knew was that the aura of the area had gone… dark. Things had gone wrong then, so Kurogiri guessed that must have been the kid's quirk's doing, and what had Shigaraki so riled up.

By now the cat was sitting right next to him. It didn't even bat an eye as he continued to clean the mess it had made. Its full attention was on Shigaraki.

* * *

Shichi knew something was up with these humans. She didn't mind the one she had found earlier, that human was alright… maybe. She hadn't reached a consensus on that yet, but for now, he wasn't her concern. The other human though… he… his scent was stronger, it reeked of death, but something else. It was more familiar to her, she had smelled it before… but where? She didn't know.

He was talking, but she wasn't really paying any mind to what was being said or to whom, just his scent. It was painfully familiar… but Shichi had smelled a lot of smells. discerning where all those smells originated from was an almost impossible feat. But with the determination of a very determined, and stubborn, cat, Shichi persisted in her pursuit of smell knowledge. If there was one thing Shichi knew about this smell, it was that it smelled bad, which really could only mean one thing: this human must be a bad person. Only bad humans had that kind of stench, or so she knew to her knowledge (her knowledge was pretty limited for this kind of thing, but she would remain resolute in her stance anyway).

Too soon for her liking, the human who smelled of death stopped whatever blabbering he had been doing to the screen and got up. Shichi followed him. He did not like that. Shichi did not care and persisted.

It wasn't until he tried to kick her away from himself that she halted her hobbling. She sent a pointed glare (the kind a cat gives someone they plan murder) at him and sat on her haunches.

The human asked her something, asked her what she wanted, but since Shichi only cared about why his scent was familiar, she hadn't really paid attention to the words that had left his mouth. So instead of answering, she licked her paw and started to clean her face. That felt like something she needed to do at that moment; it was not, and the bottle of alcohol that shattered right next to her, hosing her down in a vodka shower told her as much.

She jumped, fur puffing and tail standing rigid, and she yowled, yowled like a banshee. She hadn't even seen him grab the bottle to throw at her, but now she was thinking, if he was this angry at her presence, it might be time for her to take her leave.

She got up, as regally as a three-legged cat who looked like a black cotton ball could (which wasn't very regal at all) and started to walk away, but not before she found her way to the counter and jumped up on it.

Now, she had thought she was being discreet enough as to not anger anyone there. People usually didn't mind her, but obviously, this human, who was becoming increasingly worse in her mind as the seconds wore on, minded her presence very much.

She hissed at him, a warning. He did not heed it, as he was yelling something at her. Even with him raging at her, she couldn't be bothered to decipher what he was saying. She just knew he was angry, and so she hissed. Her claws were unsheathed now, ready to cut a bitch if necessary. They dug into the wooden counter with the fervor of a beast ready to kill.

The human wasn't attacking, but he was glaring at her now, and the other one, the one she deemed not so bad was giving her a pitiful look now, like the ones she used to get when she was still getting used to not having her fourth leg. She didn't like it.

Before it had been fun being here, a little adventure of her own to pass the time, but now she just wanted to get out. Her fur was starting to get all sticky from the bottle that was thrown at her earlier.

But… as much as she wanted to leave, she also didn't. The lingering mystery of that familiar smell had her hesitating. Where had she smelled that scent before? It was recent, very recent… but she couldn't get an exact mark, and it left a sour taste in her mouth.

The not-so-bad-human gave her a look as if to tell her she best be leaving, and honestly, it was probably better if she left now and got on her way home, but the smell! It was nagging at her!

The death-smelling-human was glaring at her; her ears were flatter than a desert plain as her hackles raised, and she let out a shrill shriek, a hiss so wretched it caused both humans to flinch. She was proud of herself for that.

Death-smelling-human raised something. Shichi thought it might have been a shoe, but she only got to contemplate it for a little bit as it was flung at her. It missed her, but only because her reflexes were insanely good (she thought, but in reality, the man's aim just left much to be desired). Unfortunately, behind Shichi was a towering shelf full of bottles filled with various alcohols.

The force of the shoe (or whatever it actually was as Shichi never did get a good look at the object) caused the shelf to collapse. The bottles fell, they shattered, spraying alcohol everywhere, effectively making Shichi a cat cocktail, a cattail, but not like the plant.

Oh, she did not like this. This was the last straw. Her fur was sticky now! And it smelled wretched. She didn't even want to bathe herself with how awful she stunk.

The yowl she let out was a battle cry as she ran, sprinted at the death-smelling-human, claws weaponized and prepared to attack. She was going to leave this place, but not before letting that human know how she felt about being serenaded in alcohol. She pounced, just as her ancestral cats pounced on their prey, and she sank her claws into the man's face. Her claws dragged across his face, she could see the tiny ripples of blood seeping out of the wound. Before he could react, she let go, leaving the memento of their meeting set in. with blood still on her claws, she bounded out of that place as quickly as she possibly could, not wanting to stay a second longer, knowing her presence there would no longer be welcome.

It was also at that moment, when her claws had dug into his skin, that she recognized that scent. It had been there when she saw her boy in the infirmary. It had been lingering, faint, but very much there. She was insanely glad now that she had ripped up that man's face. He had been there when her boy had been hurt, his scent had been on her person, and from what she could tell, had caused his unhappiness.

This could not stand. Shichi knew it simply couldn't, just as her fur couldn't stay this matted, filthy mess that it was. If she ever saw that man again she would leave more than just a scratch on his person.

As she trotted home, tail twitching in anger and resentment (the twitching was also in part due to Shichi wanting to rid her tail of any alcoholic residue), a low growl emanated from deep within her. Those people were enemies to her. They caused pain to her boy. She would make things right. Somehow.

Her anger dissipated as her eyes landed on her home. Or well, her boy's home. She was staying with him for the time being while her people were gone. She didn't mind though. As nice as her people were, they weren't her boy. Her boy saved her, and her boy was different from others of his kind. There was something special about him, and she would protect him with all she could. Besides, with his luck, she needed to be there for him.

Silently, she snickered to herself as she made her way home.

* * *

An: I hope you enjoyed this chapter :D

And a special thanks to everyone who has favorited, followed, and reviewed this story! You guys are the best and it always makes my day to see a notification in my inbox for this story. Until next time, Vera~


	12. 12 Angry Men

"Oh, come on. Nobody can know a thing like that. This isn't an exact science."

* * *

Shouta didn't like this board meeting one bit. He knew it was going to happen. He knew why it needed to happen. He just didn't like it.

The Sports Festival was to commence soon, though, in light of recent events, Shouta wondered if they would proceed as normal. Shouta understood the importance of the Sports Festival, why it was held, and the benefit of it. It wasn't just for the students. Pro agencies looked forward to this event as well. Even with what just happened, he knew the school board wouldn't let the Sports Festival sink. The entire meeting was a sham in order to deceive the public into thinking these higher up folks cared about Mineta's death.

One way or another, the Sports Festival—no matter how many people told them to postpone it—would be held.

Shouta was at a crossroads with it himself. The Sports Festival was important, it always has been; without it, his students would not have as strong a foothold in the hero society after Yuuei, but to hold such an event right after this tragedy… The last thing he wanted was for them to make a show of his own class's loss.

"So, we're all in agreement then?" asked one of the leading chairmen to the board of directors. He was a tall, lanky man. Slim, pointed features and a receding hairline of red, like an inferno dying out. His name was Youza, if Shouta recalled right (he didn't particularly care if he did). Shouta and Youza had never seen eye to eye. He was brash, a sneaky prick, who would never get his own hands dirty. He didn't care about the wellbeing of the students, all he cared about was money, fame, and public image. The Sports Festival was something he cared a lot about, too many businesses had already invested in this year's Sports Festival to back out now.

There was something about him that had Shouta on edge.

He already didn't like this meeting. He wanted nothing more than to have slept in today. He was still trying to come to terms with what had happened last week. It was out of his control, yes, but a student died on _his_ watch. He wouldn't forgive himself so easily for that.

"Are we sure it's smart to continue on with the Sports Festival right after the USJ incident?" The question came from Ms. Midnight. "I mean, maybe we should take a moment to reassess the necessity of this festival. I know it's important, but not more important than the safety of the students. And what of that Villain? Shigaraki was it? Do we even know anything about him or this supposed league of his? You can't possibly expect us to go forth with the Sports Festival with this villain on the loose."

Before Youza could respond, one of the other board members cut in, "We are currently investigating this so-called League of Villains. So far the investigation has borne nothing of substance. The league is new and small, not having made any name of itself, however, the police have made this their top priority. Trust me Ms. Midnight, keeping these kids safe is our top concern."

"Ah yes, Ms. Midnight, as my colleague stated, keeping the students safe is priority number one," Youza said. He then stood up and addressed the room, letting a reptilian smile suffocate his features as he continued, "But you see, isn't it already in the best interest of the students to continue with the Sports Festival? The last thing we want is to halt these kids' future because of one tragedy. The Sports Festival is how many students find internships and get jobs with hero agencies. We can't take that away from them." His words were to a snake charmers tune, enticing and alluring, ensnaring everyone in the room to his capricious tones.

A back and forth between Youza and several school board members ensued before Ms. Midnight finally gave, ending the discussion with a suggestion. "What if we just postponed the event. Give the students and faculty some time to adjust and make arrangements if necessary?"

Youza's serpentine eyes slanted, but that reptilian smile never left his face. "And what a wonderful idea that would be—"

"So we're all in agreement then?" one of the less prominent board members said.

The room all nodded their heads, seeming to have come to that silent agreement.

Though most of the room was in conjunction, there were still three parties left in various states of disagreement. Principal Nedzu, who was eyeing Youza warily, as he waited for him to come to a conclusion. Youza, who teetered the line between boredom and frustration, as he figured out how to sway the room to his side. And Shouta, who had yet to utter a single comment on the entire affair.

Slowly, Youza's cheerfulness fell, shoulders slumped as he sat back down, letting a darker, cold-blooded dourness carve its way across his features. "You simply forget," he hissed, "this sports festival is as much for the students as it is for the school itself and the businesses who invest in it. We cannot just move it around at our leisure. I'm afraid I must be frank with you all: the Sports Festival must go on as planned. There is no way around it. The school cannot afford to lose out on the revenue from this event as too many businesses would not be willing, or able, to reschedule at such late notice. Either you go on with the Sports Festival or you don't. It cannot be moved or postponed.

"Furthermore, I say it's beneficial to continue on with our initial plan. Then there's no hassle; the public won't be inconvenienced to reschedule their days; and _most importantly_ —" his tongue flickered, he sounded mocking, but Shouta conceded that might just be his personal bias "—the students could use the Sports Festival as an opportunity to distract themselves from the horror they endured, and show the world just how strong and resilient they really are."

The way he said it unnerved Shouta. There was a likeness to it that had the same cold grip of death, but the charming demeanor veiled any discomfort from view so he couldn't call Youza out on it, instead, he took note of it and marked it for another day.

Shouta watched warily as Nedzu's nose twitched, before Nedzu spoke. "It seems as though this meeting has come to a close. We will commence with the Sports Festival as planned, with the addition of extra security."

With how much writhing Youza had done throughout the meeting, Shouta was surprised he hadn't caught fangs poking out when Youza smiled eerily before taking his leave.

Shouta lingered by the door as everyone left the meeting room. When everyone save for Nedzu had vacated, Shouta spoke up. "That was odd, wasn't it," he said.

"You had to expect this outcome. Of course, Yuuei is going to show reluctance after the incident, but to stop everything for one kid would be ludicrous, even if it is rather crude." Nedzu grabbed some papers and his tea, before continuing. "These pretenses, though rather dull, are necessary, and we as a school must prove our integrity for protecting our students all the while preparing our students for the future. The Sports Festival will be pandemonium, and we must prove to the world that while one tragedy befell us—and we won't soon forget it—we will not let another strike."

Shouta sighed, "You're right, but that's not what I'm talking about."

Nedzu stopped at this. A cold, calculativeness streamed through his beady eyes. "Oh? And just what were you referring to then?"

By his tone, Shouta knew he had already surmised what it was about as he went to close the door, secluding them from prying eyes and ears. "That chairman from the board of directors, Youza."

"Well, it's expected one of the higher-ups would come to this meeting given the nature of it, however, I'm deducing that you've noticed something rather unsavory about him if you're bringing it up here."

Shouta nodded.

Nedzu turned his head away from Shouta, thinking. "Yes, I noticed it too. It was clear before the meeting began how it would conclude; there was simply no way to go about changing how or when the Sports Festival was to be conducted. I've run the permutations of it, and if we don't hold it not only does our school lose integrity, but it also loses favor with the businesses invested in it. If we go on as though nothing happened then we lose favor with the public and possible future recruitments. In the end, it comes down to our image. The meeting was merely a tool to show the world we are not letting this tragedy go unnoticed. And it won't—"

"I'm sensing there's a but coming," Shouta interrupted irritably.

"Ah yes, this meeting was but a show, _but_ that chairman… he was a little too pushy on the subject, though he should have known it was a moot point. There's something not right about it."

"He's up to something, he has the demeanor of someone who knows something that we do not."

"It'll do us well to keep an eye on him then, wouldn't it, Eraserhead?" Nedzu concluded, leaving without further comment.

 _He's suspicious_ , Shouta internally noted. It eased him to know his suspicions were well-founded, but it uneased him as well. People in high places are all too often corrupt, and Youza certainly appeared to be no exception. He couldn't be sure, they had no proof, only Youza's shady persona, but really, right now, with everything so heated, and the school under such scrutiny, not being sure only gave Shouta more reason to watch Youza until he was sure.

* * *

Izuku had been dreading going back to class on Monday all weekend. Everything was going to be different; everything _felt_ different.

But nothing had changed. Not really.

The morning was still busy. He still tripped over his shoes on the way to the train station. He was still just barely on time for class. Shichi still acted as his shadow.

Actually, now that he thought about it, Shichi had been acting weird lately. More reserved, constantly on the alert, as though waiting for an attack. She was still her goofy self, but there was a coldness to her that told him to tread carefully.

Right now though, she was lazing about in the sun coming from the window. It wouldn't be a problem if the desk that had the best access to the sun wasn't Mineta's (old) desk. Having her there reminded everyone of its emptiness.

But Shichi didn't care.

She was a cat, and she had found a nice spacious place to sleep, and that's all that mattered to her.

It meant nothing to her that that desk once belonged to a classmate.

It had been almost a week. Felt longer. Felt like it happened just moments ago too. He could still see Mineta's face as the Nomu came down on him. He was terrified, a scared kid who realized much too late that he wasn't cut out for the horrors that pro heroes faced. He hadn't died like everyone said he had—as the news had portrayed it; he hadn't even seen it coming until death was already upon him.

He had died a kid, not a hero.

Even if he was training to become one, he didn't die one. He wasn't entitled to that even.

They were just kids. That was all. Not pros, not heroes, just kids. Kids who were beginning to realize how small they really were in the face of the world, their reality, what is to come in their futures. It was a depressing thought, one that Izuku knew was only half the truth, but in the despair riddled classroom, any silver lining had been eclipsed.

The minimal chatter diminished entirely as Aizawa sulked into the classroom. Shichi perked her ears and twitched her nose, eyes lackadaisically curious as she tilted her head to follow Aizawa as he walked to the center of the classroom. He still looked as though he had just made his way from a crypt in Cairo, but it didn't seem as though that would slow him down at all.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush. We lost a student at USJ when the villain's attacked. Minoru Mineta was a kid with a lot of potential. He never got a chance to prove his worth, and that is something I will never forgive myself for."

There was a lot of hidden pain in his voice. Aizawa had always seemed stoic and unfeeling, albeit he hadn't known Aizawa for that long, but still, it didn't sit right to see their teacher expressing such guilt.

"However, we must move forward and continue to progress as a class, and the upcoming Sports Festival will be a chance to prove to your classmates, to family and to spectators, and mostly a chance to prove to yourselves your potential as a pro hero."

The class became a bedlam of noise and protests. At one point, Izuku was pretty sure he saw Shichi hopping on people's head's to avoid the crowded cluster.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Kaminari blurted out.

Jirou was quick to follow up, "After what just happened, wouldn't holding such an event cause more chaos and the possibility for another infiltration?"

"The Sports Festival is one of the biggest events in Japan," Momo added, trying to calm the class down, "It would be one of the securest events in the country. There are huge sponsors for such an event, so they would make sure no matter what that it's protected so that it can go on."

There were a few more disgruntled comments that followed, before it quieted down; Aizawa waited until they had settled down before continuing.

"The fact that we have decided to go on with the Sports Festival is a testament to our certainty that we can and will be able to protect you all. If there was even a sliver of a doubt that we couldn't protect you in the event of another villain attack we would have postponed such an event."

His words assuaged the students well enough, though Izuku thought there was the barest trace of bitterness in his tone, he let it go in favor of trusting his teacher.

"Rather than being skeptical of those in charge, you all should all be considering what a huge chance this event offers for you all."

"If we do well then we can get selected to intern for a famous hero," Kaminari shouted with enthusiasm.

It was with that sentence that the entire mood of the class shifted.

* * *

Izuku intended to shuffle out of the classroom, away from his overzealous classmates, however, that is not exactly what happened. Instead of clandestinely making his way into the hallway, he turned without looking and loudly smacked his head against the side of the doorframe. He didn't fall down, but his head throbbed all the same. A few people asked if he was okay, but after he told them he was fine they just shrugged it off.

The concern was a somewhat new thing, usually, people just sighed, shook their heads and looked the other way when this kind of thing happened—which was admittedly fairly often.

The strife that was palpable only hours before had given way to anticipation. Even Shichi was taking part in the festivities. She was currently having a shouting match with Bakugo, or well, Bakugo was yelling at her, and she was screeching back. Izuku didn't think Bakugo found it quite as enjoyable as Shichi seemed to, because though her tail was twitching in contempt, Shichi's golden irises were gleaming with jubilation.

"Wow," Izuku remarked, "everyone is so pumped up, even Shichi's in the spirit."

There was the sound of crashing and a yowl, followed by Bakugo declaring victory. A hiss was thrown back at that.

"Okay, well maybe not so much Shichi, but everyone else—"

"What do you expect?" Iida came up from behind him. "Everyone here aims to be a hero someday, this Sports Festival is the perfect way to get yourself noticed. Of course, everyone is going to be fired up."

"Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys." Uraraka said, as she rushed up behind them and gripped them both in a semi-chokehold, strutting out of the classroom, with them in tow. "Make your lives extraordinary. Crush the competition, and win the sports festival!" The sheer determination in her tone was admirable.

Regaining his footing, Izuku gave a questionable look at Uraraka. "Dead Poets Society? But when did you—"

"Oh," she stammered, "well, you see, I had all weekend after we had our movie night on Friday, so I figured a few more movies at my leisure couldn't hurt. There were a few I didn't like all that much, but I found some to be really good."

Izuku couldn't explain how happy it made him to hear that his friend not only indulged in his interests for once, but enjoyed them so much as to watch them on her own time. A sly grin spread across his face. "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you?" he said in mock flirtation.

At that, Uraraka's face flushed red. But before she could respond, something caught her eye, and she stopped in her tracks. It was Shichi. Izuku didn't know where she came from, or how she got to them, but one-moment Uraraka was leading them down the hall, while quoting movies, and the next Shichi had appeared in front of them, sitting in the middle of the hallway licking her paw as if there wasn't a care in the world—and for Shichi, there probably wasn't.

"Shichi?" Uraraka questioned.

Lazily, Shichi looked up and mrowed in an almost surprised mew, before composing herself in the most dramatic fashion, tail flip and all. She gazed at Izuku passively, but swaggered straight to Uraraka.

"Aww, Shichi," Uraraka noted lovingly, as she scooped the cat up in her arms.

Iida reached out to pet the back of Shichi's head, "It seems she's picked a favorite."

"Yeah," Izuku noted, "she's sure taken a liking to Uraraka."

Patting the top of Shichi's head, Uraraka regarded, "Of course she likes me. She's a smart kitty." Shichi purred happily at that. "And you're going to help me kick butt at the Sports Festival, aren't you, Shichi?" she asked in a cooing voice.

A happy mrow, followed by the mischievous gleam in Shichi's eyes, was enough of an answer for Uraraka.

"You're really fired up for this, aren't you, Uraraka?" Izuku asked.

She nodded. "Well of course. This is where we get noticed by the pros and start our future."

Izuku recalled the short conversation he and Uraraka had, before going to USJ, how she wanted to become a hero to help her parents out. Knowing that, it put her drive into perspective. She didn't just want to help herself out, she had people who were already relying on her, and she just wanted to help them as soon as she feasibly could. It was admirable really.

"That's a good attitude to have, Uraraka. I am also looking forward to proving myself in the Sports Festival," Iida commented.

He looked at Iida and wondered what drove him; why did he want to be a hero? "Say, Iida," he decided to voice his thoughts, "what made you want to be a hero?" He didn't actually know all that much about Iida, and he wanted to. They were friends so it only made sense to him that he would want to know more about Iida, and what drove him to be the person he was today.

"Oh," Iida started, "that's easy—"

"Izuku, there you are!" The booming voice of Toshinori interrupted them. They all turned to see the man walking towards them. "Mind if I steal young Midoriya away for lunch?" he asked, though they all know it's not a question.

* * *

Izuku fiddled with his hands, processing what Toshinori had just said.

 _Fifty minutes_.

That was all. Fifty minutes a day to hold his hero form. That wasn't a lot.

"That's my current limit, and it's only going to get shorter" Toshinori said, but Izuku wasn't really paying attention. He was too focused on the fifty minutes. Maybe his quirk had been apart of this… bad luck, could it have affected Toshinori's—

"It's not your fault, Izuku. You know that right?" When Izuku failed to respond, he continued, "What am I saying? Of course, you don't. You like to think every bad thing that happens is your fault—"

"That's not true!" Izuku rebutted. "It's just that… maybe it is? I mean, think about it—"

Before Izuku could get a word in on his explanation, Toshinori continued, "I have, Izuku. I've thought about it a lot, especially recently, and I know for a fact your quirk has nothing to do with it. I gave you my quirk, it was always only a matter of time before it left me completely.

"Look," he sighed, "it's been dwindling, and me pushing myself past my limits caused it to deplete even more. There's nothing to be done about it, so I suggest we don't go around passing the blame for everything when it doesn't do any good."

Startled, Izuku tried to think of a rebuttal, but when none came to mind he relented, "Yeah… yeah, you're right, it's just… fifty minutes isn't a long time..."

There was a pause before Toshinori spoke, "No… I suppose it's not, but it's not like a timer, that's a simple average. I can't tell you how much of One for All is left in me, only that it is fading. My time is drawing to a close…"

Izuku took a moment to take in what Toshinori was implying. He knew it was coming, logically, in the back of his mind, he knew that as soon as he got One for All, it would leave Toshinori. He just hadn't realized how real it would be. Now that is was encroaching on them, he wasn't sure he was up to the tasks ahead.

"So, my boy," Toshinori said, "how is it going with two quirks? You're still having difficulties controlling One for All correct? And what about your other quirk, the bad luck?"

Izuku nodded. "I'm still having trouble controlling One for All, I don't… I can pinpoint it to a single point on me, like my finger, but it still shatters my bones… but, you remember back at the USJ?" he ventured carefully.

"Yes… what about it?"

"Well, I think—I can't be one hundred percent certain—but I think I used my quirk. The bad luck one… I could feel it, this, well—" Izuku stumbled over his words, trying to figure out how to best say what he meant "—it's like an aura I guess. This aura just surrounded the entire place."

"Yes, I do recall a similar feeling. Impending doom was what it felt like, but as a physical entity in the air."

"Yeah, well, that… that was me, I think." His features scrunched up as he thought. "I think… I can curse people?" He let it hang in the air.

"Curse people? You mean like that voodoo stuff?" Toshinori asked curiously, and a bit ignorantly.

"Well yes, but actually no," Izuku said, "I don't think it's like that at all… it's more like, well… it's— how do I explain it?" Izuku scratched his head uncomfortably. He knew what he meant, it made sense in his head, the problem arose when he tried to articulate it to anyone else.

"It's like a veil," he started, "a ghostly thing that I can control—vaguely. I think it will take more practice to control it more precisely, but right now, if I concentrate, I can cover someone with it, like a blanket or veil, and then the bad luck kinda attaches to them and will stick with them for a small bit. I don't know how long it lasts, but, for that briefest of moments, it almost feels as though good and bad luck manifests in the air and takes sides… does that make any sense?"

Toshinori nodded his head, though Izuku thought he might just be being polite, and not actually understand what Izuku was trying to convey. He didn't know how else to say it though.

Sighing, Izuku tried one more time, trying to simplify as much as he could. He was still trying to make sense of it himself. "Everyone has good luck and bad luck right," Toshinori nodded, even though it was rhetoric, "but it's all random. Luck is arbitrary, comes and goes, but not for me. Because of my… quirk bad luck manifests around me a lot. So when it does that, it would make sense for the good luck to disproportionately navigate to where I'm not, right?"

"I think you're giving too much credit to something that you've already said is arbitrary. But alright, let's say that when bad luck manifests around you, the good luck goes somewhere else, that is, _if_ good luck and bad luck are finite and defined instead of just anomalies in our world that happen an infinite amount of times at random—"

"Okay, okay, I get it. So maybe my thinking is a bit flawed, but my _point is_ , when I manifest the bad luck, or it automatically surrounds me, the good luck in the area—" Izuku held up his hand to stop Toshinori from interrupting his thinking outloud "—it is good luck by comparison to the bad luck I have on my person at any given time. So anyway, the good luck in the area goes up by virtue of me being there because the worst luck will go to me so anything, by comparison, is less bad luck than what I have, do you follow?"

A quick nod from Toshinori convinces Izuku that while he might not be making total sense, he's not completely incoherent either.

"Okay, so where I have bad luck, around me is good luck." He would have to thank Uraraka later for her insight on this. It wasn't until she brought up the prospect of good luck that he'd even thought about his quirk like this. "But, if I were to place that bad luck on something else, or someone else, then the dynamics would change. That thing, or person, or whatever it was, that I pointed my quirk at would take the bad luck and around them, by comparison, there would be good luck… so back at USJ, I concentrated on doing just that. It's like I placed my quirk on someone else unexpectedly. I gave them my quirk—I placed a curse on them!"

"So," Toshinori started, "you gave them your quirk for a short period of time then? Gave them bad luck as though they were cursed?"

"Yes!" Izuku said excitedly. This was a great thing; he had finally found a way he could use his quirk to help people. "I mean, theoretically, I should be able to control how long, and how effective it is, when I place the so-called curse on them. It'll take a lot of practice, but I think it'll work, I just need to—"

"Woah, slow down, Izuku." Toshinori put his hand up in a mock stopping motion. "You have to be careful with this. Yes, it helped back at USJ, but you must keep in mind how dangerous this could be. I'm not saying it's not a valid strategy, giving the villain's bad luck could work in our favor greatly, but it backfires gravely as well."

Izuku stopped his whirlwind thoughts to take in what Toshinori had said. "Y-yeah, you're right. It could end badly, so I need to practice my control with it…"

"I see… well," a small smile etched itself in Toshinori's skeletal features as his fluorescent eyes blazed a fierce blue fire, "I can tell already, Izuku, you're going to make a great successor. And your time is coming. The Sports Festival. It's a chance for young heroes to show their worth to potential recruits. This is where you'll make your debut."

Izuku gave him an inquisitive look, "Yeah, I know the Sports Festival is a big deal, but what are you getting at?" He could tell there was so much packed into the words Toshinori was saying, so much more.

"What I'm getting at is," his smile was still there, but it took on a more somber note, "the time of All Might is coming to an end. There's nothing that can stop what has already taken motion. And when I'm no longer suited for the hero work, the people need to know they can count on the next generation to take up my mantle, they need to know that you are here." He pointed at Izuku to accentuate the importance of the words.

He wanted to say something, anything, but no words found their way to his mouth. It made sense, was something he knew was coming, and in the back of his mind had known since the moment he took One for All as his quirk (second quirk), but now that Toshinori was here, All Might himself saying that the moment was drawing near, and his time was now, well, it crashed down on him rendering him speechless.

He was here, and now he needed to tell the world that—the prospect was beyond daunting.

* * *

Hearing about the tragedy that befell on class 1-A and actually seeing the ramifications were two entirely different things. Neito knew that, and in a way expected it, but the shadow that cloaked the school and wrung out the voices of all its inhabitants clung to his skin and coated him with cowardly meagerness rendering him as distraught as the rest. It was encompassing, and his proud nature felt very small in the wake of such a thing.

There was one less student that walked these halls, it made a bigger dent than maybe it should have. It was one student. One. And not even a well known, or liked (from the rumors he had heard), one, just a random person who happened to be in class 1-A, the best class for first years. The "strongest".

Look what good that did for them.

Class was listless and boring. Vlad, his homeroom teacher, was somber as he addressed the class. There was a rivalry between class 1-A and 1-B, everyone knew it, some took it more seriously than others. Neito took the rivalry to heart—he flaunted his superiority over class 1-A, and he wanted nothing more than to prove himself and his taunts as true. But even if they were rivals, there was comradery between the classes and this… this tragedy stopped everyone right in their tracks.

Neito listened halfheartedly to Vlad as he explained everything with a morose sadness that sapped the room of any vitality, clogging the air with a thick presence of melancholy.

He got it, he understood why Vlad was so invested in this, because he cared about the students' wellbeing, but this was a bit much. They didn't know this kid, he wasn't in their class, any interaction between them and the kid had been minimal.

It wasn't some noble death or anything. It was a cruel, hard, meaningless death. It sucked, but that was the truth. A kid died for nothing, not to help people, not to save the day. It was just a show of brutality on the villain's part. Dragging it out, or making it something it wasn't, pissed Neito off.

Just let the kid be at peace. Stop parading his death around like he's some martyr. At least if he were that there would have been some meaning to it, something to hold onto, but this… listening to Vlad go on and on about this kid he barely knew as if he were some saint? It was bludgeoning, even more so because the kid wasn't special. He wasn't some upstart rockstar of a kid, he was small, insignificant… and a little bit of a pervert from what he gathered from the females.

His death was tragic, but not notable.

His death proved nothing but the strength of the villains and the incompetence of the heroes. Neito didn't want everyone to just forget about what happened and pretend everything was alright (it obviously wasn't and even Neito himself had been feeling a strange emptiness knowing a student from his school was just nonexistent), but this excessive coverage only gave more fame to the villains. It accomplished nothing but fear. Fear for the safety of the students. Fear of this new League of Villains. Fear of what's to come.

Fear for just the sake of fear.

Neito had started to tune Vlad out, until he mentioned the Sports Festival. With how much they had been dragging out that kid's death, Neito hadn't been completely convinced they would continue on with the event, but it seemed it would be going on as per usual, with extra precautions of course.

With that, class let out for lunch. Neito wasn't completely attuned to his surroundings, too preoccupied with the Sports Festival, that he ended up bumping into someone on the way to the cafeteria.

"My bad," he mumbled, but whoever it was stopped him.

"You in class 1-A?" the guy asked, not really intimidatingly, more casually, but due to his staggering height over Neito, it came off as more of the former.

The guy looked like he hadn't slept in days, his eyes a ringed trench, and he had unruly purple hair. "No," Neito responded only the slightest bit begrudgingly, "Why? You got something against class 1-A?" A potential friend, perhaps, he thought.

The guy just rolled his eyes, "I'm assuming you heard the news of the Sports Festival. Well, if someone not in class 1-A were to perform well, they have the possibility to move up, and seeing as there is now a spot open in class 1-A that possibility has just become exponentially enticing."

Oh. Neito hadn't even considered that… a chance to be in class 1-A? Now that'd be something. "Well now that's something I wasn't privy to, and I'm assuming neither is anyone in class 1-A, though it does make sense. But then why does it matter if _I_ am in class 1-A? Were you perhaps going to tell them this information?"

The guy shrugged. Signs of him being correct then.

Neito turned to the guy, and held out his hand, "I'm Monoma Neito, class 1-B."

"Shinso Hitoshi," Shinso took his hand, "class 1-C."

"General class then?" He had suspected Shinso to be in the support class, but then looks could be deceiving. "If you know that information, and had the intention of telling class 1-A, what for, scare them? Intimidate them?" Neito shook his head, dismissing that line of questioning. "No matter your reasoning, but I'm assuming you wanted in on the hero course?"

Shinso nodded. "My quirk made the entrance exam quite difficult to pass, but I've wanted nothing more than to prove those who doubted me wrong and become a hero."

Such a boring and cliche reason to draw his drive from, Neito couldn't exactly relate to it, but he passed no judgment (well, minimal judgment) on it. Everyone had their reasons, cliche or not, and if it helped them strive to be better heroes then so be it. In the end, the reasoning didn't matter so long as they were indeed a good hero. "What's your quirk then?"

At this Shinso grew rather uncomfortable.

"Oh come now, it can't be that bad, and even if it is, you still got into the school so you've proven yourself smart enough to have the foresight that your quirk could be troublesome for getting you in the hero course," he bantered back playfully, patting Shinso's back as they made their way to the cafeteria.

This seemed to give Shinso a bit of courage as the barest smile splayed out on his face, "It's not exactly what you would call a hero's quirk…"

"Neither is mine. Copying other's quirks? Feels more like a scam than a unique quirk itself, but I can't change what I've got so I'll make do. It's proven useful too, even if others think it ignoble." Neito had shrugged away his own insecurities at his quirk long ago, and learned to just accept that that was his quirk, nothing could be done to change it. "Besides, no one can know something like that, a villain's quirk? Heroes? Who can tell based on a quirk alone?"

He saw Shinso's features scrunch up as he thought about it. "I suppose, but your quirk is still much better than mine."

When Shinso didn't offer up any elaboration, Neito gave him a nudge, "And that quirk would be…"

Shinso sighed, "I can control people if they talk to me."

Neito said nothing, pondering over all that one could do with such a quirk. He understood why people would think villain, but to think that's _all_ it could be was preposterous. Noting the keen edge in Shinso's eyes, alluding to fear, Neito decided to voice some of his thoughts. "Well that's quite a quirk," Neito began, ideas already brewing in his mind, "it can be very useful too, if used properly."

"So you don't think it's a villain's quirk?"

"Villain's quirk? Oh no, of course not. The only quirks that are villain's quirks are quirks that are used by villains. It's about how you use the quirk that makes it good or bad, not what the quirk is." And Neito did believe that. Quirks were just a means to an end, they enhanced life, but they weren't inherently anything. "Shinso, I think you can be a great hero, and as far as this Sports Festival is concerned, well I have a few ideas of my own that I'm sure you could help with if you so please. So, what do you say, collaborate with me?"

Shinso hesitated, which made sense, but really Neito thought they could help each other. There was much more at stake in the festival than just a spot in class 1-A, and as much as he wanted that spot—and oh how he wanted it—the festival held more for them than just a temporary spot of glory. Class 1-A was in the spotlight right now, but this festival is where he could shine and show the world who he was. Shinso could help.

"C'mon Shinso, this is our chance to show everyone who we are and what we can do." He stopped, they were right outside of the cafeteria now. "What do you say?"

There was a moment of contemplation in which Neito wished he were able to read minds. He didn't know if Shinso would agree with his views or not, he really hoped he did, but they had just met, and Shinso was clearly not the trusting type.

Finally, Shinso looked apprehensively at Neito, before extending his hand. "Well… do you have a plan?" he asked, as they both stepped out into the cafeteria.

* * *

Izuku watched as Shichi stretched in the cafeteria tables. Izuku had been able to find Uraraka and Iida after his conversation with Toshinori. Lunch, though mostly over, still had some time left, before they had to head back to class. Her head perked as two people entered the room, one was none other than Monoma, and the other someone he didn't know. They were talking to each other animatedly, and didn't even cast a glance his way, so Izuku was able to brush them off easily enough.

He went back to watching Shichi, only to find she had started chasing her tail again. It was a nice distraction as he was still trying to digest everything Toshinori had said to him earlier, mostly just his ending note. How was he supposed to declare he was there? Winning the Sports Festival? Well, that seemed the obvious choice, but almost too easy—not easy in terms of doing, but easy in the fact that no matter what, someone would win the Sports Festival, so did that mean that no matter what someone would declare themselves? It made sense, but it didn't fit what Toshinori had been trying to convey. He didn't think he needed to necessarily _win_ the Sports Festival to do as Toshinori said—

He was broken out of his thoughts by Uraraka and Iida sitting down next to him. Shichi looked happy to see Uraraka again, even though they had only gone to put their trays away as they had finished eating. She stretched her limbs out, before going and rubbing up against Uraraka, purring contentedly.

"Aww, Shichi, you're so kind," Uraraka said as she petted her. Shichi nuzzled her hand and meowed in response. "Oh! That reminds me," she turned, leaving Shichi without someone petting her, to her backpack to grab something. "Back before USJ, when I made your good luck charm, Deku, I had something for Shichi too…"

Izuku smiled as he unconsciously clutched the good luck charm that he wore under his shirt. Though it hadn't given him much luck at USJ, it was the thought that counted. "I do remember you saying that. She stayed home that day so you couldn't give it to her."

"Aha! There it is," she said as she pulled a short pink cord with an omamori and a small bell attached. It looked like a collar of some sort.

Shichi sniffed the mysterious cord before swatting at it suspiciously. When the bell chimed, her rhyolite eyes widened into saucers and an undignified mew escaped her maw, but she composed herself soon enough and went back to inspecting the peculiar object.

"It's a collar?" Izuku questioned.

"Well, I saw she didn't have one, and I thought it might be cute to make her her own little good luck charm, but see," she took the omamori and flipped it around, "on the other side, it has her name, the same as the written number seven, a lucky number." She fumbled over her words a little, slightly embarrassed over the sentiment now that she said it aloud.

Izuku just smiled, "Well, it's not up to me if it's a good match, you'll have to see how Shichi likes it."

At the sound of her name, Shichi bristled, turning a cheeky grin and arrogant eyes toward Izuku. When Uraraka made a move to put the collar on, Shichi stood there like a queen adorning her crown. It was clear that she had no qualms with wearing the collar, in fact, it looked as though she reveled in wearing it, showcasing it by puffing out her chest, and strutting across the table.

"I think that's a clear indication that she likes the collar," Iida piped in, just now joining the conversation.

"I think you're right," both Uraraka and Izuku agreed.

A loud bang on their table caused Shichi to jump, fur fluffing out until you could barely tell cat from a black ball of fur. Fur still on edge, she turned to hiss at whatever had made her jump.

Bakugo stood there, with his tray of mostly eaten food sitting in disarray on the table form being slammed down.

Fiery coals that lacked their usual heat landed on Izuku, disregarding the other occupants at the table. "Deku, I don't know how you've managed to last this long here, I don't care what tricks you've pulled to fool everyone into believing you belong here," the low gravelly growl drowned out all intruding noise until it was all he could hear, "but that ends at the Sports Festival. I'm going to put you in your place there, show the world who the real hero is going to be." Bakugo's voice rose steadily until it engulfed the room.

"You get that." The threat was laiden deep in his tone. "This is my declaration of war to you, _Deku_. The Sports Festival isn't meant for wannabe's, only the best will shine, so you better not get knocked out by anyone but me, ya hear." Heat enveloped his proclamation as he roughly grabbed his tray and left.

His words sparked a fire in many of the students and soon declarations of war could be heard from every other occupant. Izuku noticed Monoma and that purple-haired kid eyeing him before turning back to their conversations. As the proclamations decreased, Izuku noticed there was one student in particular who hadn't uttered a word nor moved from their seat since the outburst.

Todoroki Shouto sat in the corner, a chill spindling down Izuku's spine as their eyes met. They hadn't talked ever, the only time he had ever really noticed Todorki was during the training session, and Todoroki had frozen his feet to the floor. Needless to say, he and Todoroki didn't have the same rivalry (if it could be called that, which Izuku kinda doubted it could) he and Bakugo had. Todoroki had a cold calculativeness that clashed with the fiery brashness of Bakugo, but Izuku knew for all their differences they were very similar, and in Todoroki's eyes, he could see that same declaration of war. Silently, Izuku nodded his head, his eyes conveying his acknowledgment, acceptance, and agreement to the declaration. Todoroki nodded, the barest of smiles, or perhaps it was more of a grin, laid claim on his features as he soundlessly got up to leave and head back to class.

Izuku turned to Iida and Uraraka, who were waiting for a response from him. Shichi ignored him altogether, still miffed about the whole ordeal.

"He's right, you know," Izuku started, his own excitement and enthusiasm bleeding into his words, "the Sport's Festival _isn't_ meant for wannabe's, so we should show the world that we're much more than just aspiring heroes."

Both Urarka and Iida grinned at that.

"Well put, Midoriya," Iida said.

"You've got that right, Deku!" Uraraka said.

Izuku smiled, Shichi following behind, her bell jingling, as they walked out of the cafeteria and towards their next class. Bakugo was right, and Todoroki, though quieter in his declaration, were exactly what he needed to hear. This was the time for students to shine, to show what they were made of, but more than just that, this was where aspiring heroes proved they could be more than just aspiring. It was important to each and every one of them for different reasons. Bakugo needed to prove he was the best. Uraraka needed to secure a financially stable future. And him… well, he needed to prove to Toshinori—to himself—that he was capable of being the successor that Toshinori wanted him to be.

He was going to declare himself to the world that he was here, and he _would_ be a hero.

* * *

AN: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you guys so much for all the favorites, follows, and comments on this fic, they seriously make my day!

Until next time,

Vera~


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